


Flames of Destiny

by LaidEffect



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Book 2: Earth (Avatar), Book 3: Fire (Avatar), Crossover, Gen, Post-The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus), Post-The Heroes of Olympus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28812069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaidEffect/pseuds/LaidEffect
Summary: An unconscious stranger found in the middle of the Earth Kingdom was surprisingly saved by the exiled-Prince-cum-fugitive of the Fire Nation. Unaware to the Prince, this stranger's appearance could bring seismic changes to everyone's belief and destiny, particularly that of a certain legendary figure - the Avatar.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 156





	1. A STRANGER APPEARS – IN THE STORM?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first attempt at an 'ATLA x PJO' crossover.

The sky was dark, atmosphere cold as the night reached late. Darker clouds heavy with rainwater covered most of the sky, blocking what little light the moon would have provided had none of the cotton mass particles of air was in the way. The cold air was made even colder with the combination of the strong night wind and the rain that poured, bordering on a rainstorm that may be the first that the mountainous region had experienced after a long time.

The rain did nothing to stop the figure who stood at the peak of one of the mountains. Draped in a faded green long sleeve ragged tunic with a dark brown cloth tied around the waist as a belt, the figure spotted short dark brown hair which was soaked along with his clothes. But what stood out most was the red scar on the left side of his face, closing his eye almost to a slit, covering the beautiful the amber eye which would spark with life every time the figure was in a more positive mood.

But in a positive note, he was not. Despite being drenched from the heavy rain, the figure was boiling internally with rage. Just a week ago he had carried his injured uncle's body towards a partially destroyed hut not too far from where he stood. That same day he found himself teaming up with his 'mortal enemy', the Avatar, to face his own sister who had branded him 'a traitor'. It took him days to nurse his uncle, especially since he only possessed basic medical knowledge which he learnt from the many times he was treated after sustaining injuries from combat, and also some of the knowledge from his mother.

When his uncle awoke, he had spent the entire day training with the older man in hopes of honing himself with advanced firebending techniques should he meet his sister again. It weighed in his mind that it would be probable he would cross paths with his younger sibling, who his uncle had described as 'crazy and needs to be taken down'.

There he learnt about the essence of the 'lightning bending' which is created when both the positive 'yin' and negative 'yang' energy are separated and recombined as they crash together to create the cold-blooded fire. Despite a full demonstration by his uncle, and numerous attempts by himself, the figure had only managed to spark explosions in his face which sent him tumbling backwards from the impact.

_"You will not be able to master lightning until you dealt with the turmoil inside you."_

His uncle's words rung in his ears, deafening him from the rain that continued pattering down.

_"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."_

How could he? He was Zuko, Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, Prince of the Fire Nation, and Heir to the Throne. But he's mother had left him when he was much younger, his father exiled him to an impossible mission which even his forefathers had failed to accomplish, and just a few weeks ago, he was deemed a traitor by his own nation. How could he not be feeling ashamed? Even if he denied that he ever felt shameful by claiming he was proud as ever, his uncle's words again replayed in his mind.

_"Pride not the opposite of shame, but its source."_

How could his pride not be hurt? Even after his uncle decided to teach him a firebending move only he knew, which the exiled Prince would come to learn to be 'lightning redirection', the older man had refused to allow him to test it despite constant pleas by the younger man to shoot lightning at him.

_Was it because Uncle felt I'm not ready?_

Pushing the image of the incredulous yet comical look his uncle made upon hearing the request to the back of his mind, Zuko lifted his head to face the clouds. The sound of thunder clashing was what led him to stand atop this mountain peak, to get his own source of lightning.

_No, Uncle Iroh is wrong. I. Am. Ready._

Taking in a deep breath, he yelled at the sky above.

"You've always thrown everything you could at me!"

His father's mistreatment. His mother's disappearance. His exile three years ago. The impossible mission to regain his lost honour. Fleeing the nation to become refugees. They were all difficult on him.

"Well, I can take it!"

Despite all the hardships, Zuko never gave up. He never gave up on his mission: to capture the Avatar, despite the numerous failures he faced. Zuko was always a sore loser, even if he did not admit it.

"And now I! Can! Give! It! Back!"

His uncle's lightning redirection technique. He wanted to test it. He needed to test it. He had to.

A bolt of lightning flashed in front of him at the other mountain peak ahead, prompting him to turn his head to watch it fade before tilting his head back up again. This time, though, his face was twisted with anger.

"Go on! Strike me! You've never held back before!"

Yet, the skies ignored him. It made him feel like a failure, again. The response, or lack of it from the skies reminded him of all the failures he endured. All the shame he felt when he let himself down. In a fit of rage, Zuko fell to his knees as he lifted both his arms up into the sky and let out a cry filled with anguish.

Then he felt it. He felt a tingling sensation on his skin as the hairs on his head stood up. He heard a soft hissing sound as if a pot of water was boiling in the distance. As he was about to open his eyes, it struck.

He wasn't standing directly under the lightning strike, nor was he very close to it when he was trying to get on his feet on the slippery and uneven ground. But as the bolt of electricity hit the ground, the small explosion threw his body backwards.

_"Well, my life has been nothing but humbling lately."_

Maybe Zuko miscalculated his abilities, but his own words to his uncle started to play despite the ringing in his ears as he felt his body crash onto the slope and rolled downwards.

His body slammed onto a large rock. No major injuries occurred, but the impact knocked the wind out of his body. Shaking his head and using his hands to clear his face of any mud that may have stuck to him from the roll, Zuko tried getting up with the rock to support his weight.

Zuko checked himself for any other hazards his body may have picked up but found nothing. With that, he stared back up at the sky grudgingly before he started to turn around. Except he stopped when his eyes caught sight of something.

He thought he was imagining it. About forty meters ahead of him stood a shadowy humanoid figure.

It was raining. It didn't make sense to Zuko that there would be anyone else out in the storm apart from himself. Normally, he would just stay on guard and not call out to anything but curiosity and a huge dose of impatience got to him.

"Who's there?!"

No verbal response from the figure, but Zuko was certain the figure was getting closer just by the fact that the silhouette was getting bigger by the moment.

_Is he limping?_

If Zuko was certain the figure was a person, he was definitely sure he noticed the uneven gait 'he' possessed. He realized that the figure was too far away to engage with his fire bending, so instead he decided – against his better judgement – to walk towards the shadowy figure instead.

"Hello?"

Again, no response apart from the pitter-patter of the rain and occasional thunderclap. As he closed the distance between himself and the figure, Zuko was definitely sure 'it' was a person and that 'person' was most probably injured.

Zuko was picking up pace as he approached the figure before he realized what he was doing. As he stood over the figure, the teen knelt and tried to get a look at 'him' as much as his limited vision allowed him, which wasn't much. The only information he was able to obtain was that this figure was a young man and was unconscious. He placed a hand on the stranger's chest and realized his breathing was shallow from the shuddering rise and fall of his chest.

This confused the exiled Prince more. The nearest town was abandoned, and as far as Zuko remembered there is no sign of residence apart from the decrepit house which is now used as shelter by both him and his uncle. So where in the name of Dragons did this stranger come from?

Frustrated, Zuko got up and turned around, ready to return to his shelter. But he couldn't. For the life of him, Zuko could not understand why he could not leave this stranger behind.

Internally he argued with himself. He had no information about this stranger, apart from the fact he is from the Earth Kingdom. They are in Earth Kingdom territory. And the Fire Nation troops hadn't made it this far up North. So why for the life of his dishonoured self could he not just leave a potential enemy to the mercy of nature?

_No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are._

Once again, the words of his mother replayed in his head. The same words he remembered when he was fighting one of the Earthbender soldiers in a small village a few weeks ago.

Zuko closed his eyes tight and let out a sigh. He was most likely making a mistake. A part of him screamed at him about it, but another side persuaded him that he should not leave a helpless stranger behind.

_It would be what Mom or Uncle Iroh would do._

Cursing under his breath, Zuko bent down again to grab the stranger by the right arm, pulling him up and partially over his shoulder. He half carried and half dragged the stranger, who by now was probably heavy from being drenched in the rain, towards the direction of his temporary home as he weathered the storm.

oOo

Iroh looked out from the window of the decrepit house, staring into the mountain range where his nephew had stubbornly headed towards to find a source of lightning to practice the skill he just obtained. The old man let out a soft sigh as the rain pitter-pattered onto the half worn-out roof, some water dripping just near his makeshift bed from the holes in the ceiling.

His mind wandered to his nephew. Stubborn, hard-headed, impatient Zuko. Never one to give up, the eldest son of his younger brother had been tasked with the impossible, only to have found himself to be so close yet so far from his objective on countless occasion. Until they were both branded enemies of the Nation for treason.

A frustrated Zuko had refused to live a life that he was uncomfortable with and set out on his own to find his own path. Unknown to the teen, the former general had been following him since, only showing his face when his nephew needed help most. Until his own niece shot a blast of fire and injured him, which led to Zuko having to patch his uncle up.

Iroh agreed to train Zuko to make him better in case he faces Azula again. He should have expected his pig head of a nephew would want to push himself to the limits. He did it just before he was to encounter the Avatar the first time, despite Iroh's insistence that he was not yet ready.

But Iroh sympathized with Zuko. All the young Prince wanted was to get his father's love and approval, despite the many times Zuko claimed it was to regain his honour. It wasn't wrong, it wasn't entirely correct either. This nephew of his has the potential of many things, but he was blinded not by the literal scar he obtained from his ruthless father, but by his emotions. No matter, the former general had made it his sole duty to keep the teen from straying from his path.

" _Destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out._ "

Iroh's recall of the words he spoke to his nephew at the Western Air Temple three years ago was cut short at the sound of a person panting and footsteps being dragged across the ground. Turning his head to face the sound, the grey-bearded man watched as his nephew entered his vision and the house, all while carrying a stranger?!

The sight confused the former general, albeit slightly, as he was quick to get on both his feet and rushed over to the duo as quickly as his recovering body allowed him.

"Prince Zuko," He called out as he helped carry the stranger on the other side. "What happened?"

"Ostrich horse ran away," Zuko said, each word being forced out in between breaths. He was clearly exhausted. They both placed the stranger down next to the fireplace, on dry ground and away from the dripping rainwater. The boy pointed at the stranger as he sat down abruptly. "Take a look at him."

Iroh had many questions. _Where did Zuko meet this man? Why did Zuko save him? Where did he come from? What kind of clothing is he wearing?_ Instead of dwelling in them, the man got to grabbing whatever rag he could use as a makeshift towel to dry the two who had just walked in from heavy rain. Passing one cloth to Zuko, who started wiping himself as dry as he could while removing his drench tunic, the older man knelt to help dry the unconscious stranger.

There was one problem. The stranger was not wet. It was as if the man did not just soak himself under the rainstorm that his nephew dragged him away from. Totally dry, even his weird looking clothes were dry. Iroh turned his head to look as Zuko and realized that his nephew wasn't all soaking wet as he should have been. He was just slightly damp.

"What?"

Iroh ignored his nephew's question and turned his attention back to the stranger. All the while the stranger's mouth was moving, as if he was muttering something. But Iroh was unable to make out the words. Instead, he studied the stranger, noting on the firm muscly build the individual possessed. The length of his prone body suggested that he was tall, probably even taller than Zuko. Best guess, the stranger was in his early to mid adulthood.

"Who is he, uncle?"

After a few minutes, Zuko broke the silence bar the sound that came from the storm. Iroh snapped him a look.

"I don't know. You're the one who picked him up."

That reply earned a glare from the teen, who only huffed out in frustration before he made his way over to his uncle and the unconscious young man.

"He is Earth Kingdom, right?"

The tan on the skin indicated he probably was from the Earth Kingdom, with jet black hair that seems to support that, except the wild mess of it spoke otherwise. The complexion on his face made it difficult for Iroh to really pinpoint his nationality. The older man gently peeled open the right eye and realized the eyes were not rolled back. This allowed Iroh to study the colour of them. They were green, but not the usual dark forest green, emerald or jade-like the usual Earth Kingdom natives that he had met. Instead, this young man possessed green eyes that reminded both Iroh and Zuko of the ocean and sea when they were travelling on their naval ship.

Noticing that the stranger's lips were dry, Iroh turned to the small ceramic teapot that contained some water.

"Get me some water for him."

"You're seriously helping him?"

" _You're_ the one that brought him here, and said 'take a look at him'."

A huff escaped Zuko's lips but he still walked over to the pot, poured some water into a small cup and handed it over to his uncle who gently lifted the stranger head slightly and placed the tip of the cup on his lips.

Iroh carefully tilted the cup forward and watched as the water entered the stranger's mouth. Immediately Iroh noticed that the young man's skin seemed to change from its pale shade to a much healthier one, and his facial expression turned from a twisted frown into one of more relief. _Interesting._

He was also able to pick up on one of the words that the stranger was muttering.

"… Chase…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this nagging idea of putting forth a story where 'Zuko meets Percy' since most of the "ATLA x PJO" stories I read (on another website anyway) are either "Suki meets Percy", or "Azula meets Percy" or "Team Avatar Meets Percy". Most of them have Zuko dying super early and me sed reading that /3. (Mi love Zuko 3 He is sweet cinnamon roll that everyone needs to protecc :P) Mind you, I still really enjoyed the plots that came out. Just kinda curious how a Zuko and Percy interaction would be like without them trying to kill each other at the beginning.
> 
> PS: I just started to enjoy ATLA and TLOK. Didn't really watch them when they were aired. So if by any case I unintentionally get the ATLA characters to act OOC in the storyline, just hmu and I'll see what I can fix (unless I did it on purpose of course xDD)


	2. DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO BE HEADACHES AND WEIRD DREAMS?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 ladies and gentlemen. Hope y'all enjoy it

If Percy had a drachma every time he woke with his head feeling like it was just being hit with a giant bat with spikes protruding at the end, he'd have… maybe seven drachmas?

Raising his hand to his face to rub his eyes, the jet black-haired young man felt his vision clear as he recalled fainting in the middle of a storm. Great, now I'm becoming the next Jason Grace.

But he was certain he had not fainted more times than Grace. No, no. Blonde Superman faints so easily one might worry the gods had hidden kryptonite all over the place just to watch the son of Jupiter fall unconscious in the name of humour.

Percy felt dread wash over his body at the thought of his friend. But as his ears caught wind of the sound of something being lit in flames Percy straightened up in a blink of an eye.

_Fire?!_

But there was no fire around him, even when his nose picked up the scent as if the air was singed. There was a small tug in his gut, but Percy ignored it when he heard a man talking like he was giving instructions, while another voice – possibly that of a young man – grunting in frustration.

"That's enough training, for now, Prince Zuko."

_Prince?_

Sea green eyes scanned the place he was in, and he was definitely certain he is in no royal place. The walls were worn out and the ceiling had a huge hole at the centre, allowing the light from the sun to enter and partially illuminate the dirt floor.

_Where am I?_

Peeling his eyes from the ceiling and walls to look at the ground, he realized two makeshift beds – are those futons? – placed next to a lit fireplace. It reminded him of Hestia. A grey ceramic kettle was placed over it. _Well, someone was boiling something_.

His gut tugged at him again when he laid his eyes on the kettle, and he felt slightly warm inside. Percy, however, did not have time to dwell on the sensation when he heard the sound of footsteps. Muscle memory kicked in as he snapped his head around while his hand reached into his pocket to pull out his pen. Except there was no pen, nor did his jean have any pocket to speak of.

Confused, Percy's eyes darted down to realize he was no longer wearing his orange t-shirt nor his blue jeans. In their place was a sleeveless tunic – which showed his muscly built arms, along with the tattoo of his a trident SPQR on the underside of his left arm – and long, baggy pants, both in the shade of green, but were faded to the point Percy thought it looked more grey than green.

The sound of the older voice expressing an "ah!" caused the demigod's reflexes to kick in as he rolled over to his side before getting on both his feet, putting himself in a fighting stance as he prepared for an engagement.

Standing in front of him were two men in similar-looking long-sleeved tunics, one in his late fifties and the other possibly in his teens. The older man was stout, and he spotted a long grey beard and grey hair which was tied into a bun. The teen, who was about a head taller than the senior had short brown hair and looked clean-shaven. The thing which stood out the most to Percy, however, was the red scar on the upper left side of his face.

While the older man just stood calmly at the sight of Percy, the teen had also entered his own battle stance – he hunched his back forward, both legs bent as if he was squatting slightly, while both his arms were raised in front of his chest, the left hand forming a fist positioned behind the right hand which formed the shape similar to a knife.

"Where am I?" Percy asked, his voice so low he might as well be growling.

The older man didn't flinch at the tone of his voice, despite the teen looking more agitated. Instead, his lips curved up slightly as he took a small step forward, as though he wanted to approach Percy.

"You – we – are in Earth Kingdom territory." The man replied. His voice was calm, reminding Percy of Chiron if his trainer of a centaur adopted a thick Asian accent.

Percy's face looked dumb, the same face he makes whenever someone threw him Greek names he didn't know. He did have years of practice looking that way much to everyone's chagrin. Who knew it'd come in handy when someone told him he's in the 'Earth Kingdom'? Because as much as he did not pay attention to his geography lessons (thanks a lot, ADHD), he was very certain that no such place existed, nor would any sane person on Earth would call their country _that_.

"The 'What' Kingdom?" For a second he thought Gaea woke again and named a kingdom after her domain. A possibility that has a low to nil likelihood since that battle with the Earth Mother over half a decade ago.

"Tu Zin to be more specific," the older man replied as he stroked his beard with his right hand.

"Tu Zin?"

"Just great, Uncle," the teen spoke up irritably, his amber eyes (eye?) narrowing at Percy as he studied the demigod "he's both dumb and an idiot."

With that 'uncle' glanced over his shoulder as he muttered softly to the younger man. Percy may have been standing apart from them but he could still make out the words: " _What's the difference? And you're the one who picked him up._ "

'Uncle' let out a sigh and turned to Percy with an almost genuine smile. "Forgive my nephew. I'm pretty sure you're smart. Just confused."

The tone of the old man's voice and tone tempted Percy to drop his guard. The demigod straightened his posture, taking a less tensed stance, but did not drop his guard. The teen standing next to 'uncle' did not return the favour, standing ready for a fight.

The sound of whistling caught the trio's attention and 'uncle' tilted himself to the side and a smile formed on his face.

"I see the water's ready," his smile broadened, "would you like to have some tea with us. Perhaps we could clear some of your confusion as we sit down and clear our minds. After all, there aren't any villages around for a few kilometres."

Percy watched as the teen glared at his 'uncle's suggestion but didn't outright object to the offer. Looking at the delight at the old man's face as he mentioned 'tea', Percy could not find any reason to reject the invitation.

oOo

Iroh placed his cup of tea and let out a soft yet satisfying sigh. The stranger had accepted his invitation and had joined him and Zuko for tea, though he could feel his nephew's disapproving glare as he made the suggestion.

They introduced themselves to the young man as Li and Moshi, the cover names they adopted when they deserted the Fire Nation. In return, the stranger introduced himself as Zhang. Despite the warm exchange, Iroh had suspicions that the young man was using a cover name just like he and his nephew.

The old man was certain Zuko had similar suspicions. While Iroh kept his theories to himself, his nephew was not as subtle at hiding his emotions. If looks could burn, Iroh was certain 'Zhang' would have been burnt to a crisp as Zuko was glaring flame daggers at their guest, though their guest appeared to not have noticed.

Apparently, 'Zhang' could not remember much of his past, the only thing he remembered was that he had to 'walk through a thunderstorm to get something'. Whatever that 'something' was he could not remember – or as Iroh surmised, unwilling to divulge.

To the former general, this individual had him feeling somewhat 'off'. He had the posture of a seasoned warrior, yet was humble and did not put on an act, which most high ranking military officials would. He kept a lot to himself – the former general was certain of that – even as Iroh briefly explained the Hundred Year War to 'Zhang' without exposing their involvement whatsoever. But he still joined in and laughed at Iroh's jokes at the expense of Zuko hitting himself in the face with his palm at every two 'tea' jokes.

There was something else Iroh was unable to shake off. As far as he remembered, he had only once felt strong energy radiating from one individual: the Avatar when the legendary figure fused with the ocean spirit 'La' in the North Pole. And here, he is feeling the same as he sat down with 'Zhang', laughing and drinking tea together.

 _Just_ _who is this man?_

oOo

The hard, dry ground was rather uncomfortable to Percy's back. Not that good sleep could help him especially with the dream he was having.

_Percy found himself in the middle of the desert, far away from the torn-down house he was taking shelter. All around sand desert glowed orange and gold from the sunlight shining down, and the sky was blue with rare desert clouds in its midst. He heard the whistling sound of the desert wind blowing in his ear, but he was not physically affected by it. There was another sound in the background. A rumbling noise like the desert was hungrily trying to fill its 'hunger' by trying to swallow something._

_The source of the rumbling sound was a tall cylindrical tower that was sinking into the sand. But its capsize into oblivion was being halted by a young girl gripping onto a part of its wall. Percy guessed she wasn't over the age of thirteen, and seeing her battle with the gravity that pulled building reminded him of the time he watched Annabeth Chase hold the sky in an older vision._

_Percy heard a roar to his right, and he noticed a fluffy cloud tied to the ground in the midst of a small dust storm. When the dust cleared, he realized that he wasn't looking at a cloud, rather a large beast surrounded by people wearing headwraps to cover their faces from the heat of the sun. The beast had two horns on its head like a bison and shaggy white fur. As it tried to stand the demigod realized the super huge beast had six legs._

_"Don't make me put this down!" The girl grunted as the beast roared in desperation. Sea-green eyes watched helplessly as she released her grip onto the building, letting it sink at an alarming speed as she turned around. She punched the air in front of her, in which sand rose and flew in the direction of the beasts and its would-be captors._

_As Percy witness the slice of sand completely missing its target, his vision shifted somewhere else. Or someone. It was a girl in a long, kimono-like blue tunic running down a dark room that had doorless shelves filled with scrolls. All around the room sand was pouring in from the ceiling, flooding the place. As she makes a hard left onto the main corridor Percy realized she had a white lemur with wings perched on her shoulder._

_His vision followed her from behind as she made another turn for her to cross a bridge; while his question as to who she was running from was answered when she stopped in her tracks to turn around only to be overshadowed by a large figure that he learnt that it was not a 'who' but a 'what'. The figure spotted black feathers and a head shaped like an owl but its long neck reminded Percy of the long-neck dinosaurs from Jurassic Park._

_"Your Waterbending won't do you much good here," the owl spoke through its beak, which would have surprised Percy a lot more if he couldn't talk to marine life and horses or had a satyr for a best-friend who can literally speak to any animal. But as far as he remembered, he never encountered a talking owl._

_"I've studied all the waterbending styles: Northern, Southern, even Foggy Swamp," it continued. The owl's voice seemed ancient and had a hint of arrogance in it. As the girl prepared for a fight, the large avian spread its wings and pulled its head back for it to strike._

_A yell from above caught everyone's attention, including the winged-lemur. Percy's vision looked up to see a figure falling, hands outstretched in the path of the owl's head. Before impact could be made, Percy felt a tug on his legs and started falling into the darkness as he was pulled in by gravity._ Not again.

Eyes snapping open, Percy woke up in a jolt. His breath was quick and shallow as if he just experienced a panic attack. There was a growing urge in him to punch the ground and yell at Hades to tell his daimons to "knock it off!". Looking around, he noticed both Li and Moshi – the moody teen and generous uncle who had saved him from a storm and nursed him back from being unconscious for two days – lying in their makeshift beds.

Pretty sure that both were asleep, Percy got on both his feet and started walking towards the torn down door and out of the hut. The moment he stepped out of the hut, he felt his gut tugging at him again. Pushing that strange feeling aside, he turned his head for sea-green eyes to look at the hut under the brilliant glow of the moon.

The condition of the hut reminded him of the Neptune 'shrine' when he arrived at Camp Jupiter: worn out and unattended. He guessed that his saviours had stayed in the hut as a temporary shed, especially when they own an ostrich-horse hybrid which Percy assumed is used for transport. Even standing a good twenty to thirty meters away from the shed the son of Poseidon could hear the ostrich-horse using colourful words for being tied to a tree stump.

The hybrid ostrich, large horned beast, big talking owl with a long neck and the name 'Earth Kingdom' served as a reminder to Percy that he was in a different world.

Hoping to turn his attention from the grim fact he has no way of knowing if he doesn't actually know what 'world' he's in, Percy shifted his thoughts to his dreams. As far as he could tell, the small, strong girl was probably an Earthbender since she could shoot sand from the ground; and according to the weird-looking owl, the girl in his second vision is a waterbender.

_What do these visions mean? Why is the owl attacking the blue dressed girl? How is this all related to me?_

Frustrated by the lack of answers he was getting, the demigod turned his attention to the stuff that 'Uncle Moshi' explained which he could get some grasp on.

This 'world' has been embroiled a 'Hundred-Year War'. Apparently, there were four Nations, each a namesake of the 'element' the nation represented. The 'Fire Nation's war on the other three nations has led to the genocide of the 'Air Nomads' for reasons Percy could not understand. The old man did say that the 'Air Nomads' was attacked first to stop an enemy. Regardless, this Hundred Years of War and the absence of a legendary figure called the Avatar has resulted in many being uprooted from their homes, Li and Moshi being one of those 'refugees' – or so they claim.

Li and Moshi. While Percy had his impression that the pair were using fake names – he did hear Uncle 'Moshi' call 'Li' 'Prince Zuko' after all – he did not blame them for doing so. He too used an alias, one from an old friend – Frank Zhang. He did feel guilty of using the son of Mar's name, but considering Moshi and Li might not believe him if he had said his name was Perseus 'Percy' Jackson he used Zhang when the name popped up in his head.

Jet black brows furrowed as Percy thought to himself why he did not push for the pair to reveal themselves. Internally he reasoned that they had saved him, and they deserved the benefit of the doubt. Whatever they were hiding, it was their secret. The son of Poseidon had secrets of his own, and he was certain that 'Uncle Moshi' and 'Li' had their suspicions about it.

Especially Li. He had many resemblances to Luke, and it's not just the scar on the face. It was the constant bitterness and anger he had. The demigod could feel that the teen does not believe him at all, especially with all the glaring the teen gave despite the scar on his face. Whoever 'Li' or 'Prince Zuko' really is, Percy had to summon all of his willpower to resist the urge to stare back, or even make a sarcastic remark about it.

"Trouble sleeping, Zhang?"

The voice of 'Moshi' snapped Percy back to reality as he turned around to see the old man standing at the door. Seeing the young man reply with a slow nod, Moshi asked another question.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Join me in questioning my place in the universe?"

The air was filled as 'Moshi' bellowed with laughter while stating that he had some resemblance to his nephew. Seeing the laugh, Percy felt a small smile creeping onto his face as the old man approached him. 'Moshi' reminded him of his trainer and his father, during happier times. Still, he could not help but amusedly cock an eyebrow at the statement.

Both of them spent five minutes looking into the stars, which reminded Percy of the constellations at his own world. Two of them were familiar to him – both Ursa Major and Minor. But he was unable to recognize the others, nor see any other star alignment that resembled Perseus or the constellation he expected to see in the Northern half of the world.

"Hey, Moshi," Percy spoke up, hoping to find an answer to a nagging question in his head as he watched the old man turned his attention away from looking at the stars in the sky. "This thing you called… 'bending' –"

"The power to control the elements, yes."

Moshi examined Percy's face and sea-green eyes watched the old man ponder before acknowledging the unspoken question.

"Li and I are no Earthbenders if that is your question."

Hearing that, Percy nodded softly. He felt the answer was missing something, or it had a cryptic message. The demigod could not decide which it was.

He turned his head to look at Moshi again when he heard his name being called.

"We will be heading out to tomorrow," the old man said. "To the nearest village."

Noting the quizzical look on the young man's face, Moshi continued. "Perhaps we could help with finding a place to help you settle."

Percy smiled at the offer but gestured at the ostrich-horse tied to a tree. "Thanks, uncle. But I doubt the three of us can fit on one bird of yours. Don't worry. I'll find my own way."

Moshi nodded in response despite looking a little disappointed. Then he extended his hand towards Percy.

"I believe this belongs to you," Percy looked down towards the hand, and recognized Riptide in its pen form. Taking the pen from the older man, a smile formed on Percy's face.

"Thank you, Uncle Moshi."

The older man nodded again, a smile forming on his face this time. Wishing him goodnight, Percy watched as the older man walked back to the hut for shut-eye. Then he turned his attention back to the sky above as he felt the tug in his gut grow stronger by the minute along with a voice egging him on.

_"Bend them… Command them…"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There goes Chapter 2. In case, you're wondering about Percy's age... Hmm


	3. PATIENCE IS NOT HIS CUP OF TEA

3\. PATIENCE IS NOT HIS CUP OF TEA

Zuko was slowly losing his patience. He just lost count of the number of times his uncle had theatrically whined in pain as they passed the line of trees.

It's been over three hours that the pair have been riding, having left their temporary shed when the sun had just started rising in search of the nearest village to re-provision. Their stranger-guest, 'Zhang', had opted against following them according to Iroh having collected his weird looking clothes. The old man had seemed slightly disappointed that the stranger did not wish to tag along, a sentiment that the exiled-Prince did not share with his uncle.

He turned his head to look at Iroh as the older man let out another whine and watched as his uncle clasped his left shoulder while recoiled in pain. Though his face showed it was more of an exaggeration.

"Maybe we should make camp," Zuko suggested. For all one knows his uncle was playing around, but the teen did not want to take the chance that Iroh's injury was being aggravated from the travel or the heat.

"No, please," the older man pleaded, forcing out the words between gritted teeth. "Don't stop just for me."

Heeding Iroh's words, Zuko kept their ride moving forth. There had been silence for a mere minute before he heard his uncle groaned in pain again. The firebender had enough of Iroh's shenanigans and pulled the reins, forcing the ostrich-horse to halt at a nearby rock.

The former general saw the small stop they made and hopped off their mount to sit atop the rock. Zuko also dismounted, walking towards his uncle as he watched the older man massage his shoulder.

A small whine escaped the ostrich-horse throat, which made Zuko turn and inspect the cause of the sound. He noticed the animal was looking behind them, its eyes wider than normal. Seeing their ride acting up and feeling the small tremors on the ground, Zuko entered his battle stance as he prepared for an ambush.

Iroh too felt the tremors, which were getting stronger by each passing second but merely let out a weary sigh while looking in the same direction as his nephew and the ostrich-horse.

"What now?"

As if answering the former general's question the tremors stopped for a moment, then five komodo rhinos in red armour jumped out of the thicket surrounding the duo. Each komodo rhino had a rider on it, who spotted different looking armour but all had a similar colour scheme - red and black of the Fire Nation.

The komodo rhino standing in front of Zuko and Iroh stomped its left foot onto the ground, creating cracks on the surface.

Zuko's eyes narrowed and steadied his stance, raising his hands to the same level as his head as he eyed the rider that towered above him.

The rider spotted a black armour that adopted red accents across it. His head was clean-shaven bar the man bun tied at the top along with the long, straight moustache that originates on the corners of the mouth and beard.

"Colonel Mongke!" Iroh greeted happily, taking Zuko aback with the excited tone his uncle had used to greet the rhino rider blocking their escape. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Colonel Mongke maintained a straight face. "If you're surprised we're here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps." With that, he clanged his bracers several times, and Zuko realized that the other riders drew their weapons. One held a guandao, one notched an arrow onto his bow and pulled the string, one pulled out a stick of dynamite and another started swinging his chains.

Zuko took a step back but did not lower his guard as he whispered to Iroh.

"You know these guys?"

"Sure!" Iroh happily replied, placing a hand on the exiled-Prince's shoulder. "Colonel and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each is a specialist for a different weapon."

He thought for a moment before adding, "They are also a very capable singing group."

_Seriously, uncle?_

"We're not here for a concert! We're here to bring in two fugitives of the Fire Nation!" Colonel Mongke angrily responded.

"Would you like some tea first? I'd love some," Iroh offered as he rubbed his shoulder. Immediately Zuko realized his uncle was stalling.

"How about you, Kahchi?" Iroh continued asking as he turned his attention to the bearded man holding his guandao. "I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?"

Colonel Mongke saw through the front as well.

"Enough stalling!" His eyes had widened with rage as the Leader of the Rough Rhinos yelled his next command. "Round 'em up!"

The tense atmosphere broke into chaos as Iroh kicked into action - kicking back the metal ball from the chain before rolling forward to dodge the incoming arrow and fire blast. As he neared a komodo rhino, the former general jumped up to smack it on its behind, causing it to charge straight ahead, dropping the chain wielder who fell backwards from the inertia.

Chuckling at the scene, Iroh turned only to see that Colonel Mongke started blasting more fireballs at him. The older man entered the defensive as he started deflecting the fireballs with his hands. He missed one, and though the fireball was smaller than the others, it still stung him and Iroh was sent flying back a few feet.

"Uncle!" Zuko yelled as he sent his own blast at the archer, who jumped off his rhino to avoid being hit. A small opening was made and the Prince rushed towards his uncle, only to have the window quickly shut in the face by fire blasts, dynamites and a steel ball. The interception attempt forced Zuko back as he had to make with more arrows being shot at his direction.

Eyes narrowed at the Guan Dao wielder who was approaching his uncle, Zuko's brows furrowed and snarled his lips as he realized he was put into a one against four, with the four riders pushing him back towards a tree. If he was going down, he would be going down swinging.

The Prince was ready to start spinning when he felt it. The others felt it too, as they looked at each other.

The ground was shaking. Very hard. A lot harder than the small tremors Zuko felt right before the Rough Rhinos surrounded them.

_An earthquake?_

Except it wasn't. Just as all the Komodo rhinos started panicking, amber eyes watched as five pillars of water exploded from the ground, hitting all the Rough Rhinos except Colonel Mongke as he jumped off before being. The other four were sent into the air as they screamed in shock. Then the earth underneath the Komodo Rhinos split, swallow the riderless beasts into oblivion.

Then a figure jumped out from the bush and engaged the Colonel. The tenacity and speed of the figure's attacks were so quick Zuko thought he was looking at a blur as he watched the leader of the Rough Rhinos continually step back. It was until Colonel Mongke, who had lost his own patience with being on the defensive, shot a huge fireball forward and forcing the figure to leap back that Zuko was able to see the figure with a muscly build, wild jet black hair and a weird looking fork for a black tattoo holding a weirdly shaped double-edged bronze sword.

"Zhang!"

"Just simple refugees, huh?" 'Zhang' turned his head to face the Prince, a smile was plastered on the young man's face. It looked so sarcastic Zuko definitely would have burned it out of 'Zhang's face if his mind was unpreoccupied with processing the events that appeared in front of him.

_'Zhang' is a waterbender?_

"You!" Colonel Mongke yelled as he shot fireballs at 'Zhang', trying to keep a distance between him and his assailant. Whoever this man was, he was good with a sword, which the Colonel would know since he was almost turned into minced meat if not for his backstepping. "How dare you aid these fugitives?!"

Zuko watched with wide eyes as 'Zhang' used the sword in his hand to deflect the blasts. What?!

"Haven't you heard, Baldy? I hate bullies."

'Zhang's expression darkened and charged Colonel Mongke again, who had a desperate look on his face as he tried shooting balls of fire at him.

"Zuko!" The Prince turned his head to see his uncle had mounted the ostrich-horse and was riding towards him, and noticed that the other four Rough Rhinos had fallen to the ground after gravity pulled them back.

"Go!" Hearing 'Zhang's voice, he turned back to see the young man's serious look. "I'll buy you some time!"

The teen's eyes narrowed at that. He had questions for 'Zhang', whoever he was, but merely nodded and turned around again to grab Iroh's extended arm and climbed onto the ostrich-horse. The animal took off as soon as Iroh spurred it forward with his heels.

'Zhang' - Percy - watched as the duo escaped then turned his attention back to his opponent. Seeing the other four of the colonel's comrades were beginning to get up, Percy tightened his grip on his sword.

_Command them! The elements are yours to command!_

He heard the voice again. The same voice that rang in his ear right before he summoned the water pillars and split the earth. Shifting his focus towards his surroundings, Percy heard the current underground crashing against the earth covering them, and he felt the familiar feeling of his gut tugging at him as he stabbed his sword into the ground. A large geyser erupted from below, stunning the five black armoured rhino riders who stood ready to face him. The water from the geyser soon formed a water wall, creating a wave that slammed the enemies. The komodo-rhino hybrid was not spared either.

"Impossible!" Percy heard one of the men, probably the leader ''baldy' (who he heard was called 'Colonel Monkey?'), yell before the wave crashed into them. The man's head appeared from the surface of the water again as the current carried him away. "No waterbender has this much power without the full moon!"

oOo

Zuko was losing his patience. Again. This time he was losing patience faster than the time he lost his 'rematch' with the Southern Waterbender Katara at the North Pole.

Iroh had dragged him to a small town called the Misty Palm Oasis. At first, he thought they had stopped there to re-provision but had doubts about it when he remembered his uncle putting on his thinking face when Zuko mentioned 'friends who aren't trying to kill us' during their escape from the Rough Rhinos earlier in the day.

His doubts were reaffirmed by the fact that they have been in the local bar for over an hour and they only ordered a small cup of tea for Iroh. The place was buzzing with villagers, traders and foot soldiers. With every passing moment, Zuko was certain someone in the crowd would recognize the duo as to being the fugitives in the Wanted posters pinned on the village board. There was no way one would notice the big red scar on Zuko's face and think " _Nah, it's just some idiot who had a bad sunburn from frying his face under it for too long_ " instead of putting two and two together by seeing the resemblance to the poster. Also, his head was reeling from the earlier events.

Seeing his nephew stiffen his posture for the fifth time in the last four minutes, Iroh let out a sigh and placed his cup on the table.

"You should really consider ordering tea, Prince Zuko. It helps to calm the mind."

The exiled-Prince turned to glare daggers at his uncle. He had heard the 'tea calms the mind' theory before, when Iroh was explaining the basics of lightning bending to him. Zuko had an open mind and was patient at that time. He had neither of those this time around.

"Maybe I'll be _calmer_ if you did not use our 'actual' identities in public. Also, why are we even here? All these people look like filthy wanderers"

Iroh ignored the tone his nephew used with a smile and a short remark that they too look the same. His eyes scanned the bar again before they locked onto a skinny old man who had just entered and was walking towards a large round at the opposite end of the room.

"I think our friend has arrived." Iroh said as he got off his seat, with Zuko following suit. When he recognized the pattern on the table, the Prince was not as enthusiastic as Iroh.

"You're joking," Zuko whispered. "You brought me here to wait over an hour just to gamble on Pai Sho with a 'friend'?"

Iroh merely smiled as a reply and requested permission from the other old man to have a game. Zuko watched as his uncle sat down and picked a tile piece before setting it in the centre, and decided to take a seat as the game commenced. However, his attention was on neither the game nor the weird, cryptic conversation his uncle was having with his so-called 'friend'. Rather, his mind was replaying the events earlier in the day which left several questions and no answers.

_Who is 'Zhang'? Is he a waterbender? How can one be so efficient with a sword and be a proficient bender at the same time?_

His focus shifted back to reality when he saw that the game had stopped.

"Welcome, brother," the skinnier man said as he spread his arms wide in a welcoming manner to Iroh. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know our secrets."

Amber eyes darted between Iroh and the mysterious figure.

"What are you old gasbags talking about?" Zuko could not comprehend a single word being said. To him "White Lotus" was just a tile with a large white flower that taking up most of its space. He turned to look at the board only to realize that the tiles formed the shape of a lotus. _Is this a variation of Pai Sho?_

A smile formed on Iroh's face. "I always tried to tell you Pai Sho was more than just a game."

Then everything happened in a blur. As the trio stood up and prepared to leave, they were confronted by two earthbenders trying to catch Zuko and Iroh for the bounty. The Prince remembered the older skinny man appearing to backstab them, but in reality, he just wanted to mention 'gold'. The word apparently was effective, as every other customer in the bar broke out into a riot, creating a distraction for Iroh and Zuko to sneak out with the former general's 'friend' and disappear into the dark.

oOo

Zuko had completely lost it. He and Iroh were led by the skinny old man – Fung – to a flower shop. Instead of buying flowers or arranging some flowers, Fung and Iroh entered a back room. Zuko came to learn he was not permitted access when the door was slammed on his face before he could even step foot into the room.

_"I'm afraid it's 'members-only" his uncle had said._

Having to think of ways to kill time, the Prince-on-the-run resorted to looking at the flora in the shop. He was starting to get bored out his mind after walking circles in the building, studying and smelling each flower on display several times. Zuko was about to fall asleep standing up when the front door opened. Amber eyes widened from the drowsiness to see a familiar walking in and closing the door.

"You," Zuko said through gritted teeth, his mouth turning into a snarl.

"Man," 'Zhang' said in between light pants. A sarcastic but tired smile had been plastered on his face. "You guys sure make it tough for a guy to find you."

"That's the point of being on the run."

A simple 'Uh-huh' escaped the jet-black-haired man as he studied a pink flower in a vase before turning his attention back to Zuko. The smile on his face had faded.

"I got some questions. What's up with that poster that has you and your uncle's faces on it?"

"Why does it matter to you?" The Prince immediately raised both his fist to enter his battle stance. His counterpart just stood unfazed.

"I mean I can't read Chinese but it's pretty obvious that the poster's either for 'Wanted' or 'Missing'. So, –"

"You're not one to ask questions!" Zuko interjected. "Who are you and why are you really here?!"

The firebender was ready to blast a ball of flames at 'Zhang', but he stopped himself when Iroh's voice boomed throughout the room.

"What is this commotion about?" The teen turned his head to see his uncle standing at the backdoor, his face wearing an unamused expression. The old man's lips curved up slightly when his eyes landed on the young man standing at the entrance.

"Zhang!"

"Uncle Moshi," 'Zhang' greeted him. "But I'm guessing that's not your real name. The same way Li isn't his real name. Am I right, 'Prince Zuko'?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed at 'Zhang'. He took a step forward but his uncle's outstretched arm stopped him.

"What do you want, Zhang? It doesn't like you to come all the way here just to hear us say 'Thank you'." Iroh said, his facial expression hard to read before softening slightly. "By the way, thank you."

"Don't mention it. I owed you two."

"Then your 'debt' has been paid," Zuko added impatiently. He did not want this 'Zhang' around. "Why are you still here?"

"I thought of taking up your uncle's offer," the young man replied while sending his own glare towards the Prince. "In exchange of me tagging along and keeping you two safe. Seems like anywhere you guys go there's trouble."

The prince was about to argue that he and his uncle are well capable of taking care of themselves when Iroh who narrowed his eyes and spoke first. "I sense a 'but' coming."

"It's not really a 'but', per se," 'Zhang' replied without breaking eye contact from either of the two. "It just won't be easy for me to help two firebenders without having proper knowledge of what I'll be up against."

"Who told you we're firebenders?" Zuko demanded. Sea-green eyes merely rolled in amusement.

"As you can see, Prince of Brooding-Land, I have eyes," 'Zhang' said, using his left hand to point gesture at his… well, eyes. "My eyes allow me to see. Colonel 'Monkey' wasn't the only one throwing fireballs and being all Human Torch in the small desert."

Not knowing the meaning of 'Human Torch' nor any proper way to reply, the Prince turned to Iroh. "You're not seriously planning to take up his offer, are you?"

It would be risky to divulge the truth to this stranger. Sure, running _with_ him is a lot better than having to run _from_ him. The only two 'facts' they know about this young man is one – he can bend water. Which means he is most likely from the Water Tribes, making him a spy; and Two – he seems to be an experienced tracker. He proved it when he found them in this flower shop at Misty Oasis. Other than these two 'facts', they had zero knowledge of anything else related to him.

Iroh stroked his beard as he looked to be pondering on the offer for a few moments. Then, he stopped and looked at 'Zhang'.

"That sounds good to me," a broad smile formed on the former general's face. _What?_ "I shall talk to my friends and see what they can arrange."

Zuko had to resist the strong urge to facepalm as his uncle agreed to the stranger's offer. _Uncle has had too much tea it's flooding his mind._ Both 'Zhang' and Zuko watched as the older man re-entered the backroom and closed the door behind him. The Prince lets a scoff escape his throat.

"Yeah, 'members-only'."

Silence befell the room, now occupied by the two young men who stood at opposite ends. The sound of the streets still buzzing with life filled the atmosphere for a few minutes before 'Zhang' spoke up.

"So, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, huh?"

Hearing that, the exiled-Prince shrugged his shoulders as he let out a sigh. "It's a long story."

"Looks like we have a lot of times in our hands," 'Zhang' said as he pointed at the night sky through the see-through hole on the front door. The young man then walked towards Zuko, who narrowed his eyes in response. Amber eyes watched as 'Zhang' stretched his arm out, offering his hand to the firebender.

"Let's start over, shall we?" 'Zhang' offered as Zuko cocked his unsinged eyebrow at him. "My name's Percy."


	4. TURNS OUT HELPING GETS YOU IN TROUBLE

If anyone was on the brink of being bored to Hell, it would be Percy. The demigod sat with both Iroh and Zuko – both known to him as 'Mushi' and 'Li' before their proper reintroduction – at Full Moon Bay as he and a few hundred refugees waited to go to Ba Sing Se.

According to Iroh, Ba Sing Se is the stronghold and capital of the Earth Kingdom and is known for its two impenetrable walls protecting the city. _A magnificent city,_ the old man had exclaimed. When queried on how he was so knowledgeable of the Earth Kingdom, the only reply was that he visited it when he was a different man. Percy saw the sadness in Iroh's eyes and came to the conclusion that the former general had tried to seize the capital before – Iroh was General Iroh after all – but failed. Unwilling to see the bubbly wise old man dredge up old wounds, the son of Poseidon dropped the topic.

Percy looked around, wondering how the others had arrived at the port. For the young man, Iroh and Zuko, they sneaked out of the flower shop with forged passports after two men were searching for the two firebenders to get a bounty. The method used was unorthodox but foolproof: Iroh and Zuko hid in large flower vases while Percy pulled the trolley carrying them, passing by the two bounty hunter-wannabes with ease. They were loaded on a carriage and ditched the trolley and vases the very moment they were certain the coast was clear.

When they reached the port stationed in a cove hidden in a sea cave, the trio had to deal with a long queue of people lined up in single file all due to an elderly woman who stood at the only counter as she stamped passports in approval, or people's foreheads in rejection. Of all the passports she inspected from the three: 'Mushi's (Iroh) was the quickest, the woman not bothering to question him and only sighed when he smiled at her; she studied 'Zhang' (Percy) from top to toe, looking back and forth from the passport and back to him as if the name didn't suit him; but when she started scrutinizing 'Li' (Zuko), both Iroh and Percy felt their heart in their throats. Her eyes darted between his red scar and the dual swords sheathed to his back. They released breathes they didn't know they held when she finally approved 'Li's passport, though she never took her narrowed eyes off him until she started attending the next applicant.

Speaking of Zuko, Percy noticed the Prince-of-the-Fire-Nation-now-Exiled brooding in the corner of his eyes. The teen had not spoken a word since Percy reintroduced himself, only voicing his shock in the flower shop when his uncle had said they were headed to Ba Sing Se to 'hide in plain sight'.

"Is he always this grumpy?" Percy thought to himself, but must have voiced out his mind as Iroh chuckled while Zuko snapped his head towards the demigod. Amber eyes glared daggers into sea-green, but Percy wasn't affected by it as he merely shrugged with an unfazed "just asking".

"My nephew is many things," the 'Dragon of the West' said as he looked at the Prince. "Grumpy, yes. But he also has kindness in him. All he needs is proper guidance."

"Lesson One: Whoop Zuko's Ass," Percy remarked. The comment did not sit well with Zuko, who got up and marched towards him.

"You want to go a few rounds, _demigod_?" the question was growled out of the young firebender's throat, his hand twitching as if it wants to form a fist or grab his dual broadswords.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the challenging tone used while Iroh let out a tired sigh and a soft 'here we go again'. When Percy explained his side of the story to the duo, he tried to keep it straight to the point and simple to understand – points like he was not from this world, he's the son of a God, and Gods seem to be similar to some of the Spirits here like 'Poseidon' to the 'Ocean Spirit' and 'Artemis' to the 'Moon Spirit' as a part of trying to compare the two worlds and find some possible similarities between them. While Iroh appeared to digest some of the information, Zuko just kept an impassive expression, seemingly refusing to believe that these 'Gods' could procreate with humans to birth 'demigods'. That and a whole different world exists.

Percy really contemplated the offer – his ADHD was yearning to kick some butt – but decided against it. There was no way a firebender and a demigod who can 'bend' both earth and water duke it out without creating a commotion and bring unwanted attention upon them. Or it might just end with them getting kicked out of the terminal entirely, leaving them no quicker access to Ba Sing Se. Getting onto his feet and dusting himself as he did so, Percy told Iroh he'll be getting some air and walked off. Not before shooting his 'wolf stare' at Zuko, who flinched slightly at the intensity of it. Lupa would be so proud.

It was when he started strolling around he realised the number of people uprooted from the Fire Nation's invasion. It was no wonder Zuko and Iroh kept their identities a secret. People would have hated them. For Percy though, since he was in a whole different world he wasn't that worried about secret identities. He just used it since the other two he was keeping company with used aliases.

A soft sob caught the demigod's attention, who turned his head to see a little girl standing at near a wall, away from the crowds as she cried to herself. Right then, three men had surrounded her. _This was a refugee's escape route, why are there even bullies here anyway?_ Percy no idea what was going on, but he knew he didn't like the look of it. His mouth moved before he realized it, grabbing their attention.

"How about _I_ help you guys sing Soprano for a week, eh?"

The biggest muscles of the group walked towards the son of Poseidon, a smirk on his face as if he did not take Percy seriously. Eyeing the young man from top to toe, 'Muscles' landed a backhanded slap across Percy's face. The slap was so hard the sound of the smack caught the attention of the crowd in the vicinity. Sea green eyes quickly scanned the place and noticed three pairs of security guards stationed nearby had also begun scrutinizing Percy and the three men.

His ADHD was beginning to act up but again for the sake of not grabbing unwanted attention, Percy stiffly turned himself around and walked away, hoping the three men would just leave the kid alone.

"Yeah, all talk but no walk. Typical trash," he heard 'Muscles' mocked just as he was about to take his first step.

Now, normally Percy would pay no heed to people mocking him. He ignored the bullies when he was hopping from school to school. The usual trigger that would have him losing his cool would be because someone he cared about was mocked or picked on. Example: Grover back in Yancy Academy. It was most likely the demigod's deep-rooted ADHD being dialled up to eleven from the lack of action for the day, or his pride finally snapped that drove him to throw caution to the wind.

_That's it. Let's rumba, Big Man!_

He felt his body took control of its own like he unconsciously clicked on the 'autopilot' button somewhere in his mind. Percy spun around and just threw a kick forward, feeling his shin landing under 'Muscle's crotch. _Jackpot_. The towering man who just seconds ago was putting up a tough exterior had now reduced to an oaf crumbled to the ground. He had his hands between his curled up legs as he let out a high-pitched yowl it reminded Percy of Grover bleating but tuned to the highest frequency. The other two 'friends' of 'Muscles' stared wide-eyed in disbelief at their leader's fall, but both of them quickly recovered to charge at their 'leader's assailant. When will they ever learn?

There was an urge to uncap Riptide, but from Percy's experience with 'Colonel-Mongke-The-Baldy" the day before, the people here are mortals. Well, celestial bronze doesn't hurt them so they're mortals. Sure, a sword appearing out of thin air will make anyone think twice. But these guys look like they're pretty confident with their numerical advantage.

Taking a step back with his left leg as he Percy dodged a right hook and lifted his right leg to avoid being swept off his feet. The demigod merely rolled forward when the two men – labelled 'Skinny' and 'Ugly' – tried to swing a wide and wild arc with their fists at him, moving like a football being rolled into a goal. It allowed him to put himself between the little girl and the troublemakers still standing. In the corner of his eyes, Percy noticed the guards watching them earlier advancing towards him albeit slowly. This must end. Fast.

'Ugly' probably thought the same because he charged at Percy, reminiscent of a very angry bull-human hybrid which the demigod battled twice. Percy stood his ground and waited for the right moment to strike. The very moment 'Ugly' threw his punch, the demigod sidestepped, his motion a blur to others.

"Wha – _eurgh_!"

Before 'Ugly' could comprehend what happened, Percy spun and kicked him in the face. He had to keep his kick lower than the time he kicked the Minotaur in the snout or he'd be looking like an idiot kicking thin air. Instead of staggering backwards and putting up some sign of a fight like 'Old Beefhead' did, 'Ugly' just fell backwards as he clasped his nose.

If 'Skinny' had wide-eyes when 'Muscles' fell, his eyes were so rounded Percy was certain his eyeballs were about to fall off his eye sockets as he watched 'Ugly' writhing in pain. The lithe man gave Percy a panicked glance while muttering to himself as he turned to run, only to find his arms twisted behind his back by two security guards the very same instant. Seeing the situation somewhat handled, Percy turned around for sea-green eyes to see the little girl had stopped crying. Now, she was just staring at him.

"Don't move."

A feminine voice peeled Percy's attention away from the child. It wasn't a threat, nor was it a request. The tone made it clear to him that he was commanded to stop and warned against doing it. The Son of Poseidon looked around to realize the other two pairs of security guards had flanked him. They appeared to be ready to fight him at any given moment.

There was a possibility of escaping into the crowd, but Percy did not want to cause more trouble for anyone given the fearful looks among the adults. Those who had children were quick to pull their little ones behind them as if trying to shield the kids from a monster, despite awestruck looks clearly plastered on the children's faces.

"I'm sorry about doing your jobs," Percy deadpanned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the same voice asked, clearly unamused. "You were clearly involved in a fight."

Percy looked to his right to see the security guard talking, and he was certain it was a girl. And he was correct. She was clearly one head shorter than the demigod, but if Percy was to guess just from body posture he was willing to bet that she was not intimidated by his height at all. Raising both hands in surrender, he felt his mouth forming a smile.

"You caught me red-handed, then."

"We'll need you to leave the place, Mister."

"Sure, if I could only inform my friends that I can't join their 'voyage'."

"Not an option."

"Listen, lady –" Percy's argument was interrupted when he felt a tug from the back of his pants and he looked down to see the same little girl he helped standing behind him. All the words and snarky remarks he wanted to spit at the guard immediately die in his mouth. Ignoring the glances shot at him, the young man slowly got on one knee as he tried to maintain eye contact with the girl without having her straining her neck. Up close, Percy saw that her eyes were bloodshot from crying earlier, but her breathing was steady.

"Did you make them sing Su-Pa-Noh?" She asked. There were no more tears flowing apart from the dry streams on her cheeks. Percy gently placed a hand on her cheek and wiped a dry stream off with his thumb as he evidently ignored the glares he was receiving. Slowly, he nodded with a half-smile.

"Yeah, I did."

"They were terrible singers," the girl giggled.

The demigod couldn't help himself. A hearty laugh escaped him, stunning the adults around, but the guards kept their stances. Controlling his delight to keep his composure, Percy looked at the girl again, his features softened as he spoke.

"Where's your mom?"

The girl dropped her head, possibly feeling a little anxious. She clasped her hands together as she timidly replied. "I don't know."

Percy's chest clenched and his heart sank. This girl was lost. In the middle of a terminal which was half the size of Grand Central Station and housed half the crowd size. The son of Poseidon still felt it was a bustling place.

"How about I help you find your mom?"

Both Percy and the girl turned their heads to see the security guard who ordered Percy to leave also kneeling to talk to the little girl. The demigod noted that her features had softened compared to when she spoke with him, possibly to help the girl feel less anxious.

The little girl turned her head to look at Percy, her eyes as if asking for assurance. Glancing over towards the guard, Percy pondered on the question. The guard did sound genuine and nice with the girl, though he didn't exactly trust her. His gut tensed and trembled whenever the demigod thought about not trusting the kid to the guard as if trying to tell him ' _bad idea_ ', and it relaxed whenever his mind weighed on the option of trusting her like saying ' _uh-huh. Go with that._ '

Seeing his approving nod, the girl's smile broadened as she turned to the guard and happily agreed to go with her.

"Go look for whoever you're looking for," the guard spoke to Percy as she took the little girl's hand. "But make it quick, the crabby lady doesn't tolerate exceptions."

The only person that came to Percy's mind at the mention of Crabby Lady was the elderly passport attendant. All her preaches about the 'importance of civilisation' and complaints about the 'lack of order in place' reminded him of the uptight and strict Terminus. One can only imagine if those two regulation-loving individuals met. He merely nodded to her and ruffled the girl's hair, who pouted but looked more like she fighting's not to break into a smile.

As the female security and her partner took off with the girl to find her mother, the remaining pair stood right behind Percy. They followed the jet-black haired young man so closely as he searched for his 'companions' he nearly suggested that they tie two ropes to his hands and held on to it as they walked – like a kid's harness. But he bit his tongue before he could give them any ideas.

Finding Zuko and Iroh was the easy part. The duo eyed the guards behind their travel companion before looking to him as they demanded an explanation. The hard part was conveying the message to them without Zuko creating a scene. Surprisingly, he did not.

"So, you're saying you got kicked out?" The Prince asked, his arms folded in front of his chest as he finally spoke for the first time since they left the flower shop. Percy cocked an eyebrow at the calmness he possessed. _Maybe there won't be a scene after all._

"No, I'm saying they're giving me First-Class privileges." Percy managed to deadpan. The sarcasm must have flown over both nephew and uncle's heads given their lack of reaction on their faces. The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm getting kicked out. So, what's the fastest alternate route to Ba Sing Se?"

Iroh stroked his grey beard as he was deep in thought. "That would be the Serpent's Pass."

"Sounds dangerous."

"It is. A lot of travellers avoid it for its treacherous path and dangerous waters."

"Now you're making it sound easy. Who knows? I might even reach the place before you do."

"Hilarious," was Zuko's toneless reply. "So I'm guessing you'll meet us at Ba Sing Se?"

Percy smiled at the remark. Good thing they didn't hear the full extent of his powers, nor the potential he had being the son of the Big Three. Or else Zuko would be giving 'weirder' faces at Percy.

"Don't worry about me," Percy was certain someone out there was going to rip the smile off his face if he kept it on any longer. He still kept it on. "I'll find a way."

oOo

Percy _could_ _not_ find a way.

He planned to find this "Serpent's Pass", jump into the water and swim all the way to Ba Sing Se – or at least the land closest to it. All while avoiding any serpents that may want a taste for half-human meat.

Sounds easy in his head? Yeah.

It was not easy _at all_ when he tried executing it.

His talk with Iroh and Zuko was cut short when an announcer invited passengers onto the ferry due for the following departure, signalling their cue to leave. As the two guards escorted him out a tunnel, he asked for directions to the Serpent's Pass, the looks they had on their faces could mean nought but one thing. _Does this guy have a death wish?_

When one of them started providing him directions, he started getting distracted by how well the walls of the cave were drilled and that they didn't need any support beams to keep them from falling.

_Gods, I'm starting to sound like Annabeth._

His heart clenched at the thought. Suppressing the thought that he might never see her again, Percy turned to the guard and realized he had finished providing directions. _So much for listening._ Nevertheless, when they reached the end of the tunnel Percy thanked the pair who seemed relieved that he left the place without a fight, and parted ways.

Greek curses escaped Percy mouth as he scanned the dark grey land as he deliberated his route. The guard's instruction which he remembered was 'turn right' but the demigod had trouble piecing together the subsequent direction he should take. What he would give to be in the water for better bearings. His mind was favouring that he just use the information available and circle the sea cave.

_Guess it's time to wing it._

Passing a small bush as he circled the cave midway Percy felt the same tug in his gut. For a moment he thought was standing on the bush. A feeling of disorientation washed over the demigod who shook his head and felt his focus returning to him. The experience puzzled him, but he quickly dismissed it as mere lightheadedness.

Then he felt it again. It was as though he could feel the humidity in the air and the water stored in the bush and the soil. As he took a step back, he felt the ground hum. _Just, what?_

His senses felt like it was dialled up to eleven, only to subside when he shook his head. Harder this time. He wanted to figure out whatever happened to him, but Percy had priorities. Ba Sing Se awaits.

So he started walking again, trying to concentrate on the land ahead of him as he struggled to take steps without feeling his ears blast at him with vibrations from the ground. The trip was different compared to Tartarus. In the darkest part of the Underworld, the landscape was always shifting, and Percy remembered how his body pained from the blisters that formed on his skin and the air could suffocate a man. This though was about his senses being amplified, and that was constantly throwing him off balance. He needed to get to the Lake fast.

Percy shifted into a light jog as he picked up the paces, not wanting to run for fear of giving himself a headache. Eventually, he reached the shores of East Lake. There he felt sensed the water trying to reach out to him, seemingly desiring him to join in. He didn't even give it a thought. The son of the Sea God just dived in.

The moment he submerged underwater, Percy felt rejuvenated like he had just woken up from a very good sleep. His mind cleared, making him realize that his senses had been magnified to the point he could feel the water in the entire lake. He felt the fishes swimming in its waters, with many of them swimming towards one point. _Him._ As if on cue, fish of all kinds had surrounded him and he could hear their curiosity in his head.

_A special waterbender!_

_A mere man, he is not._

_Why is this weird creature glowing? Where are its gills?_

_Please don't eat me!_

_Look! He is not wet underwater!_

_How can he be wet if he's underwater? We're all surrounded by water._

_That doesn't make sense. You have brains of a fish._

_You're a fish, too!_

Percy had enough of the attention from the humans at the Bay and now the fish in front of him. _SCRAM!_ The marines were quick to swim off, though he could tell they went reluctantly. As his field of view became uncrowded, the son of Poseidon became aware of a dark shape stalking in the background, before it swam away. Though Percy could not hear its thoughts, he was certain of one thing – that creature was not happy.

Then he felt something breaking through the surface of the water. It definitely was not the ships which transported the refugees from Full Moon Bay to Ba Sing Se. This felt _heavy_ as it broke through the surface of the water. Seeing that maybe he would have some extra time on his hands, the demigod underwater allowed the water to guide him towards the source of his newfound 'curiosity' while keeping his vision at its surface and his body far below it. It didn't take long for him to notice a dark silhouette shaped similar to the underbelly of a cruiser sailing above him.

 _Well, no harm investigating further._ And he started swimming upwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a (not so) brief cameo from a certain character here. *smirks sheepishly* (if you know, you know, but don't spoil in reviews >:D)
> 
> Also, Idk how to say this (imma try anyway) - Thank you for the support you've shown *bows down*


	5. FIRE NATION SHIP LEARNS TO SURF, FAILS MISERABLY

"I'm telling you, they misnamed this place."

"Wow. When was the last time we did not hear you say that, Sokka?"

Sokka scowled at the remark of the diminutive girl in green and light yellow outfit before straightening his blue tunic. His limbs below the waist were sore and he had been sweating for the good of the past three hours under the sun.

A huff escaped the Southern Water Tribesman's mouth. Initially, he and his group – consisting of his sister Katara, earthbender Toph, and Aang the Avatar – were supposed to take the afternoon ferry from Full Moon Bay to Ba Sing Se. They had successfully gotten four tickets using Toph's only passport – according to the crabby passport lady it is 'so official' with the seal of the flying boar on it – and were set to board until a family of refugees who followed them to Full Moon Bay lost all their items, including tickets and passports, at the hidden ferry station and got in touch with the Avatar for help. 'Crabby Lady' had outright rejected the Avatars request for a new set of tickets for the family.

_"No passports? No Tickets!"_

The crabby passport lady's words still rang in Sokka's ears, and he was certain they rang in Aang's too. Even his friend's kind offer of giving the group's tickets to the family was outright denied, resulting in the already dejected and unusually-emotionless Aang – despite Sokka's constant complaints after – to give up the group's own tickets to lead the refugee family through the infamous narrow path to Ba Sing Se instead. No doubt the Pass was narrow and looked treacherous to anyone's eye, the signboard at its gate which displayed the words 'Abandon Hope' was somewhat of an ill omen to anyone who wished to cross the path. Sure, there were some twist and turn along the path, and if it weren't for Toph and Aang earthbending away the occasional miniature rock-a-lanches they'd be crushed into a pulp early on. The fifteen-year-old Sokka was still sceptical about it.

"I mean seriously," He tried justifying his argument. "It's not windy enough. And where are the 'serpents' in 'Serpent's Pass'?"

"Sokka!"

Katara snapped at him, and he responded by creating a thin line with his lips as they entered a tunnel. Silence befell the large group as they exited the tunnel to find themselves walking by the Lake to their left, rather than to their right before they entered the tunnel. All eyes landed on the large metal ship sailing the waters, and everyone stiffened when they recognized the black insignia on the hull of the vessel.

"Fire Nation," Sokka heard Suki growling under her breath. "They control the West Lake. Rumour has it they're working on something big on the other side of it and don't want anyone to find out what it is."

He kept his eyes on the warship, unwilling to turn to look at the Kyoshi Warrior walking in front of him. She had decided to join them at crossing the Serpent's Pass, much to Sokka's unspoken uneasiness about the matter, and help make sure the pregnant lady had not hurt herself or her unborn baby throughout the treacherous journey.

For a while, they were able to sneak across the Pass without ship noticing them. That was until the sound of the ground splitting caught everyone's attention. It didn't take long to realize that the father of the refugee family - Than - lost his footing as part of the rock under him gave out, but it took the man longer than a second to react, falling towards the lake. Sokka and Suki extended their hands to reach him, but their arms were not long enough to cover the distance between them and Than as he plunged from gravity's pull.

Toph twisted around and slammed her left foot on the ground, feeling the earth under her feet obey her command to create a platform and caught Than before he plunges in the water below. The platform then slowly levitates upwards until Sokka and Suki grabbed Than by his hands and pulled him back to safety. The man embraced his wife and daughter as soon as he touched solid ground.

"I'm okay!"

Sokka was about to turn and thank Toph for saving the man with earthbending, but was interrupted when the makeshift platform dropped into the water and created a large splash. Blue eyes darted from the impact towards the warship which earlier failed to notice the group had just fired a fireball at them.

"They spotted us! Let's go! Let's go!"

Aang literally jumped into action while the others scrambled ahead. His grip on the glider tightened as he pulled it behind his shoulder and waited for the fireball to reach him before swinging his glider hard. The arc of wind created by his airbending deflected the fireball back to the ship, lighting part of the vessel on fire as it exploded on impact.

The explosion only served as an indication to the Fire Nation army onboard that they met retaliation, and more shots were fired in kind. As the airbender deflected a shot away, another slipped past his defence. He turned his head around only to watch helplessly as the fireball hit the mountain, causing pieces of rock fall towards Suki.

Sokka was the fastest to react, pushing the Kyoshi Warrior who froze in her place out of the way. He raised his head up only to realize that Toph had bent a part of the earth above him into a makeshift slope to send the rocks into the waters instead of crushing him.

Seeing his friends temporarily out of harm's way, Aang turned his attention back to the warship, only to witness the deck drowned in chaos. Fire was thrown around, and he heard panicked screams in the distance as he saw several figures being thrown overboard by someone engaging the Fire Nation Navy. His grey eyes widened as he saw a wave rising just in front of the ship before collapsing right above it. The water calmed, leaving no trace of the ship's presence apart from soldiers who manned the warship struggling to stay afloat. Another wave, much smaller than the previous one appeared to wash the soldiers seemingly towards the shore, leaving a bewildered Avatar to glide back and join his friends.

"Nice waterbending, Aang!" Sokka cheered with a fist pump.

"I didn't do that," the airbender explained, confusion lacing his words.

Sokka heard his friend's denial and turned to his sister instead. "Nice work Katara!"

"It wasn't me either, Sokka," the waterbender replied.

"Nice joke, you two," Sokka's eyes darted between both benders, certain they were being too modest. But the looks on both his sister and his friend clearly says that they were honest, leaving the young warrior puzzled as he dropped his hand to his side.

As far as he remembered, his group only had two waterbenders. Katara was the last of her tribe, and their sister Tribe in the North Pole did not send any military support to the war as they continued to recover from the Fire Nation Siege a few months ago.

"So, who created the large wave and swallowed the ship for lunch? The 'Lake Spirit'? The 'Serpent'? Or did Aang's airbending created a wave wind so strong a large wave was formed?"

As if on cue, the surface of the water below them exploded where a shadow shot into the air and landed right near the group, blocking their path ahead. Everyone bar the family entered their fighting stances. Aang aimed an end of his staff at the figure, Sokka grabbed his boomerang, Katara kept a finger on the cap of her water skin, Suki unfolded her warfans, while Toph pointed her right foot in the direction the figure landed.

"You guys okay?" The figure spoke as he stood up. Suki studied the stranger as she realized that he wore a faded green tunic, its lack of sleeves his firm arm muscles thrice the size of his own to be displayed. He had black hair and green eyes which somehow reminded her of the ocean.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked, ignoring the question while aiming his boomerang at the stranger. The man appeared to be unarmed, but it didn't prompt anyone to lower their weapons or their guard. Green eyes scanned every member in the group who took a fighting stance – pausing longer at Katara and Toph – before putting on a smile.

"I come in peace?" The stranger tried, albeit lazily. "I mean I'm not with Skeleton Faces who tried to shoot you down."

Suki's blue eyes narrowed at the stranger. There was something about this stranger that felt familiar to the Kyoshi Warrior. The tone in his voice was genuine but had a hint of amusement and drips of sarcasm coming with it. His smile had some resemblances to Aang's, with a twist. While the Avatar's smile had similarities to a mischievous child – broad and crooked but always filled with joy and the curiosity for life, the smile this stranger wears on his face was that of a rebellious teenager. Lopsided and crooked, yes, but smirkish in all the wrong ways. It reminded the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors of the boys in the same age group back in her home island – always up to no good. _Like throwing turtle-duck eggs at the Kyoshi Statue or setting the Kyoshi Shrine on fire just because they can._

"You mean you're not Fire Nation?" Suki heard Sokka asked, his curiosity piqued but not enough to mask the suspicion in his voice. "You're not with those monsters who jumped off the ship that just sank?"

Stranger-man raised an eyebrow at the two new questions sent at him, his smile still intact. Though there was more amusement than sarcasm compared to a few seconds ago. "I jumped off the ship, yes, but –"

He didn't get to complete his reply as Sokka alarmed his friends. "He's with them! Get back!"

As if on cue, Suki shielded Than and his family as they took steps back in retreat while Toph, Aang and Katara stood in front of her. Sokka called out a battle cry and charged the stranger with his boomerang, which caused the stranger to let out a sigh – much to Suki's confusion. When the Water Tribesman swung his boomerang like a makeshift sword, the stranger took a step back and dodged it. More swings came from Sokka, and the Kyoshi Warrior noted that the boy had improved his form. His attacks were less wild but still clumsy considering the stranger was able to dodge all of it by rolling backwards, sidestepping and stepping back with the small space available from the narrow path. _Or he's an experienced fighter. Or both._

"Look, I don't want to – whoa!"

The stranger spoke up but once again found his words cut short when Sokka threw his boomerang at him, forcing the man to leapt backwards or get hit in the head from the spinning projectile. Katara and Aang soon joined in launching their own attacks at their foe, forcing him further back in retreat while Toph and Suki remained behind guarding the family of refugees. As the fight wore on, Suki realized something was wrong. The man did nothing to fight back, and his movements as he dodged balls of wind, streams of water and a flying boomerang felt familiar to her. _The voice. The wild look in his eyes. The sporadic movements he made._

"Wait!"

Everyone turned their head towards Suki, including Sokka who had charged forward, overlooking a rock which his left foot hooked onto.

Time seemed to slow down. Sokka tripped over the rock and stumbled forward past the stranger, failing to find his footing, only succeeding at falling off the path as he let out a high-pitched scream. Aang, Katara and Suki cried out to Sokka – though his screech drowned out their collective call – while Toph tried to bend a platform for Sokka similar to the one she made for Than earlier.

Then time returned to normal for everyone to see Sokka dangling just at the edge of the path, tiptoeing as he tried to keep his feet on the ground, while the stranger had grabbed the Water Tribesman by his tunic.

Katara's eyes burned angrily. Her brother was in danger because of the man. Summoning the water from her waterskin once again, she willed it into a water whip and lashed at the stranger.

"Let my brother go!"

The whip did not deal any damage whatsoever. Instead, Katara felt her control over the water slip as the water coated the stranger's back upon contact, creating a thin layer of liquefied skin around him. _What?_

While the waterbender remained glued to her spot trying to comprehend the turn of events, the rest of the group had caught up and watched with awe as the stranger pulled Sokka from the edge.

"Sure. Attack the guy who saved your butts from that fiery ship of doom," the stranger grumbled as he helped Sokka to his feet. "Then hit the guy who's trying to keep Captain Boomerang Jr from dropping. It's not like the grip will loosen and he can fall into the water and die from impact. You okay, buddy?"

In the midst of his rant, the stranger checked on Sokka whose hands were on his knees as he tried to keep them from giving way. The teen took a few seconds to gather himself, steadying his breath before replying with a quick nod.

"I'm good," Sokka breathed out between pants as he looked at his saviour. "Thanks. Didn't want to become Flattened Sokka so soon, anyway."

The stranger nodded at the response, the tips of his lips lifting slightly. Then he turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Aang called out, halting the stranger in his tracks, who sighed in response.

"What?" He asked as he turned again to face them. "Am I going to get an airball to my face as a thank you? Because I could do without those. Thank you very much."

There it was. The same tone Suki had heard earlier during the day. She knew she had heard it somewhere.

"You!" She exclaimed, her voice without any trace of accusation. "You're the troublemaker!"

"Wait!" Sokka's jaw dropped as he pointed accusingly at Troublemaker. "You know this guy?!"

"'This guy' can still throw you off the cliff," Troublemaker-Stranger glared at Sokka before turning his attention to Suki. He cocked an eyebrow at the Kyoshi Warrior. "I'm sorry, Make-Ups, have we met?"

"I believe we have."

His eyebrows knitted together as he studied Suki from her headdress to her shoes. He was about to shake his head when sea-green eyes met Suki's blue, and his face lightened up as realization dawned upon him. The same sarcastic, troublemaker smile returned to his face.

"Security Girl."

Suki felt a small smile crept up her face, while still aware of the confused glances the others shared. Sokka looked like his eyes were about to fall off while jaw about to touch the ground.

"Suki, you know this guy?!"

She turned to look at Sokka and realized he had an incredulous look plastered on his face. Her smile didn't wane as she answered.

"Not really, Sokka. I do know he saved a girl from trouble though."

"I'm honestly unable to see how he's capable of saving a girl while you called him a 'troublemaker'," Sokka made finger quotes to prove his point.

"What your girlfriend's trying to say is that I got in trouble getting a little girl out of trouble. And I can still decide to un-save you."

Suki felt blood rushing to her cheeks at Troublemaker's label of her as Sokka's girlfriend. Somehow, Sokka didn't notice the term that was used. Instead, he inhaled sharply at the offer to be 'unsaved' before sputtering out incoherence.

"Yea, t-that makes m-more sense. I-I think."

Troublemaker's eyes darted between Suki and Sokka. _His eyes do look like the ocean._ Then he pointed a finger at the teenage boy.

"Sokka."

The Water Tribesman took his turn to give Troublemaker a quick once over, then he nodded. Troublemaker turned towards Suki.

"Suki."

The girl also acknowledged with her own nod. The stranger then turned his attention towards Aang and the others who were walking over to join the trio.

"So what does that make you, Arrowhead? Or is that your real name?"

"This is Aang," Katara answered in Aang's place, though Suki heard her uneasiness from her tone that carried less friendliness than her Water Tribe friend usually would. "He's the last Airbender. He's also the Avatar."

Suki noticed the stranger's eyes widening slightly before studying Aang, who she noted still wore the same indifferent expression on his face since leaving Full Moon Bay. Katara must have taken the stranger's silence to continue introducing the others.

"I'm Katara, and this is Toph. This is Ying, Than and their daughter."

Troublemaker's eyes narrowed when he looked at Katara and Toph before his expression softened as he turned to the refugee family, who greeted him with smiles and waves despite the initial encounter.

"So, mind telling me what are you all doing on the _treacherous_ Serpent' Pass? Are you kids on a quest?"

The group shared uneasy glances among each other at the term 'kids'. It sounded condescending like the stranger didn't trust them to be able to take care of themselves. Indeed they were still considered young, but not _that_ young to be travelling out on their own. The trials and tribulations they've undergone during their journey had forced them to grow. Katara improved her water bending tremendously, Sokka was no longer an immature sexist, Aang started to take his responsibilities seriously, and Toph is more cooperative as the days go by.

Aang narrowed his eyes. No one knows this stranger, somehow but he had correctly guessed they were on a 'quest'. Suki knows him to a small extent but as Troublemaker, which didn't sound like a trustworthy person. And he appeared after 'coming from a Fire Nation ship'. Then again, Suki vouched that this Troublemaker-Stranger 'saved a little girl' which should mean something, and he saved Sokka just now. Even his complexion looks nothing like anyone from the Fire Nation, he looked more like an Earth Kingdom resident. _How much should be disclosed to him?_

There was a small nagging thought at the back of the airbender's mind, persuading to give him the benefit of the doubt. _He did not retaliate when we attacked._ Also, he was curious about the part that the stranger had claimed to have 'saved their butts'.

He had to make a call.

"We're on our way to Ba Sing Se. Do you happen to be going that way too, Mr…?"

Everyone watched Troublemaker-Stranger's face twisted slightly as if he was internally arguing on how he should answer the question. The few seconds which past felt like an eternity as they waited on his answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After 4 previous chapters, we have the first Percy and Team Avatar interaction. And in case anyone is still lost/confused, Suki was the security guard who with 3 others had confronted Percy for his fight with the three guys and 'kicked' him out of Full Moon Bay. She calls him 'Troublemaker' because he: 1. Caused a ruckus and, 2. Looks like one :P
> 
> Oh and I may or may not be rereading my chapter 4. I understand that several aspects didn't quite make sense to some readers and may or may not see if there's any way some aspects of the part could be adjusted to make more sense and suit the plot. XD


	6. JUST WHAT IS THERE TO CHASE?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hey! Hey!
> 
> Guess who's back after two weeks?! It's Yours Truly! Was caught up celebrating a tradition that lasted 15 days (it was more about cleaning the damn house every damn day - Who freaking wipes the chair and bed every flipping day when there are only 1 teenager and 2 old people in the house?) along with classes in between, and booking for a sitting for an exam that is around 3 months from now and whatnot, so I didn't have the chance to write or reply or even bloody upload.
> 
> For that I say: I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY!
> 
> Chapter 6 is here, and it was actually prewritten. But then... couldn't upload... Sooo... please don't murder me *best impression of puppy dog eyes* *fails miserably*
> 
> Still! Hope you enjoy chapter 6!

Percy kept his eyes on the dwindling embers from the campfire, using whatever heat it provided to keep himself from the night cold that prickled the back of his neck. He met this ragtag group of refugees that were now his travel companions to Ba Sing Se, though their meeting started off on the wrong foot.

After he infiltrated to investigate (less successfully) and sunk (overly successful) the large ship to help the small blips on the strip of land he saw was being shot at with catapults, he thought to check on them. Only to be attacked by three teens – one of which accused him to be from Fire Nation – when he mentioned that he came from the red, ugly warship. If it weren't for years of training and heightened battle senses he would have been hit with a gust of wind or the sharp boomerang. Funnily enough, it took him saving the accuser from falling to his death for one of the others in that ragtag group to recognize and vouched he was 'okay'. Quick introductions and the group accepted him as company given all shared the same destination.

Percy still doesn't understand why his gut told him to not introduce himself as Zhang.

The warmth from the fire that they had set up for the night reminded him of a particular Greek Goddess. There was a small glimpse of Hestia smiling kindly at him from the firewood that still glowed red and Percy was certain the air around the night had just become slightly warmer. A small smile crept upon his face though his eyes conveyed a different emotion.

Being a demigod had its perks, he could say that – saviour of the world (twice), cool water abilities (from being the son of Poseidon), quick reflexes, et cetera. But Percy would definitely testify that being the child of a god does have its less appealing qualities – monsters always on the hunt, lost friends, forgetful godly parents, godly grudges, rotten luck.

Oh, and dreams. Percy hated dreams.

He still does.

He had wondered to himself why he thought in the five days – two unconscious and three awake – he spent in this new and weird world that maybe he would get a free pass to "No-Stupid-Dreams-for-Percy-Jackson-Just-Good-Sleep" for at least a day. Even when he was unconscious he didn't get good sleep. Some weird dream that he couldn't remember the details other than two koi fishes swimming in perfect circles and two weird-looking-drakons-with-wings that seemed to fly in circles.

_Must everything be circles? And since when do drakons have wings?_

Percy really considered adding 'zero-good-luck, just-rotten-luck' back to the list of "Bad-Things-of-Being-a-Demigod". _But then Annabeth will kill me._ He stiffened himself at the thought of his girlfriend as his mind replayed one of the two dreams he had while trying to rest well.

_He found himself in a room of white marble, and he would have widened his eyes if he could do so in his dreams. Percy recognized the room he's looking at – it was home. With Annabeth. In New Rome. They had just moved into the place so there were boxes everywhere, but Percy recognized the blue couch in the small living room and the coffee table which was now housing the aftermath of a storm. Papers were strewn all over it, some sheets threatening to fall to the ground while some gave in to gravity's lure and rested on the ground._

Oh, boy…

_"I swear," a voice broke the silence in the room and Percy's vision snapped to the blond figure storming into the room. He recognized his girlfriend anywhere. He recognized her even when he lost his memory. "If this was another ploy by Hera, I –"_

_Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, was a mess. Her hair was dishevelled, cheeks sunk and Percy could see dark crescents forming on her tan skin under her eyes even as she entered – stormed – into the room. And two figures followed._

_"Annabeth," The bulkier figured cautioned, and Percy couldn't help but sympathize for Frank Zhang when he saw the Son of Mars wince. Despite being the terrifying and esteemed Co-Praetor in Camp Jupiter, no doubt some fear him for his imposing physique, even the leader among the Roman demigods would thread cautiously when dealing with an angry Annabeth Chase, or when someone cusses a Goddess. Or both._

_"Easy, it might not be Juno's doing."_

_"Frank's right," Hazel Levesque added as she stood next to Frank. Her features showed less signs of being uneased by the daughter of Athena's temper compared to her boyfriend – battling oversized giants, towering automatons and mad Roman Emperors along with few years of being Co-Praetor does add steel to one's nerve. "It's been a week hours since Percy was last seen. The three of us know he's been gone for longer."_

_Percy winced at that tidbit of information. A judo flip is due for him when he meets Annabeth._ If.

_Annabeth snapped her head around to face her friends. "What if he's gone missing again like last time? Six months, or worse. Not even IMs work!"_

_"Annabeth," Hazel calmly placed a reassuring hand on Annabeth's shoulder. Her facial features changed to one filled with concern. "When was the last time you slept?"_

_Silence befell the room at that question as Annabeth's stormy grey eyes that once were filled with worry and anger now displayed weariness which matched the dark circles under them. Hazel and Frank shared a glance, both their lips forming narrow lines before Hazel spoke again._

_"Get some rest," her tone was firm but soft. "It makes sense that you're worried about Percy."_

_"We promised…" Percy heard Annabeth whisper weakly as she hung her head dejectedly, and his chest clenched. Annabeth almost never showed that she was vulnerable, but that wasn't the only reason he felt like Atlas decided to drop the sky onto him._

_The both of them made a promise before they fell into Tartarus, where they travelled the Underworld's darkest and most dangerous place to the Doors of Death._

A promise to never leave each other's side.

_"We know, Annabeth," Frank replied. "Camps Jupiter, Half-Blood and I think Fish-Blood are aware of the situation."_

_Hazel snapped Frank a glare at the mention of the underwater camp for Mer-Heroes. Or maybe for his choice of uncertainty with the phrase 'I think'. Percy thought he imagined Frank meekly add "well, Neptune could be worried for his son…" while Hazel shook her head and turned her attention back to Annabeth._

_"The point is: everyone that can be deployed to find Percy is doing everything they can to find him. Demigods, satyrs, fauns, nymphs –"_

_"Heck, even Apollo is dipping his fingers in whenever he could."_

_Another glare. The son of Mars raised his hands in surrender._

_"We'll update give you daily updates, or when we have any news," Hazel said. "For now, get some rest."_

_Annabeth could only nod meagrely, and both Praetors watched as their blond friend sat herself down at the couch and drifting off the moment she closed her eyes. She didn't look at ease, but Frank and Hazel decided to leave the Daughter of Athena some time alone. Percy's vision remained on the slumped form of his girlfriend as a soft mutter escaped her mouth while a bright light engulfed his view._

_"Promised…"_

Percy wanted to pull his hair out. His friends had no idea where he is, he has no means of contacting them. Iris messaging was a possible option but since he 'heard' Annabeth mentioning that IMs couldn't reach him, Percy concluded that he needed an alternative. _But what?_

The water in the lake around the Serpent's Pass churned, though Percy was too absorbed in his own thoughts for the few seconds to notice. His head started to ache when he couldn't come up with any ideas. _If only Wise Girl was here._ He shifted his attention to his other dream, which made less sense to him. Then again, being a demigod means dealing with stuff that seldom made sense.

His memories of his second dream when he tried sleeping were fuzzy, and the only things he remembered were a large outline humanoid figure the colour of black space is struck by lightning and falls, followed by the skies and grounds turning red from being lit in flames raging for miles.

Whatever it meant, Percy was certain it pointed to the end of the world. And he seems to have a part in saving it. Or destroying it. _Oh wow, the universe just loves me_.

Gritting his teeth together, he scanned his surroundings to find the family of three sleeping in their own worn-out sleeping sheets. He was offered a sheet to sleep on, though he politely turned down while watching the shenanigans of one particular dark-skinned teen, Sokka, trying to convince the girl in makeups, Suki, not to sleep near a ledge.

His mind wandered to the ragtag group of teens and the few hours he spent with them crossing the 'Serpent's Pass': Sokka, Suki, Toph, Katara, and Aang.

Sokka looked the oldest among them, though the words that came out of his mouth most of the time gave Percy the impression his mentality may not be that. The boy was goofy, making random remarks which made Percy confident that Leo could get along with this guy, if Leo doesn't compete with him on making unnecessary and inappropriate jokes. Sokka claimed to be a warrior, but clearly lacked the skillset for it, nor did he seem to use any 'bending' to speak of. Percy remembered Sokka's attacks with his boomerang – wild but predictable wide arcs with no precision whatsoever. Percy made a mental note to consider giving the teen tips for melee combat, if said teen could stop glaring holes at the demigod for knowing Suki.

Percy's impression of Suki – or 'Security Girl'/'Makeups' was little. His interactions with her were minimum, though the most compared to the others in the group. She kicked him out of Full Moon Bay but vouched for him to not being Fire Nation after she saw him saving a little girl – much to Sokka's clear annoyance. His only impression of her was that she was a trained warrior, given her stance when she and her security team had confronted him back in the bay.

Then there were Katara and Toph, who he was certain were the ones in his dream when he was in the hut with Zuko and Iroh. Toph – the petite girl in black hair and green-yellow dress asleep on the hard ground, citing she could 'see' better despite being blind. Percy didn't question whatever she meant and let her be, guessing she could probably 'see' using her some kind of enhanced sense. She came off rude, sarcastic and carried her own weight, though the demigod guessed she only acted so to prove she was who she was to someone. Who? He had no idea, and was not interested to find out.

Katara was a waterbender – that he was sure. All the flying tendrils of water she controlled gave him that idea. She cared for everyone in the travelling group, including Percy, who she tried to attack with that weird water-whip earlier when Percy was keeping her brother from falling off the Pass to his doom. She acted as the mother figure of the group, matured and level-headed, unlike her brother. Percy found her trying to catch glimpses at Aang every now and then whenever she had the chance or she thought no one was looking.

Lastly, Aang. When Percy first heard of a legendary figure known as the Avatar, his first impression was someone probably old but definitely wise and all-powerful, or maybe a three-meter tall alien from a faraway planet that he saw in a movie. He _did not_ think that the responsibility of 'saving the world' and 'restoring balance' – the last term just flew over his head – to fall to a twelve-year-old. _Then again, I did learn of my "hero's fate" when I was that age._

Rolling his eyes, Percy scanned the area again to see four other bags were empty, giving Percy the impression that they were awake. A huff escaped him as he decided to get onto his feet and do some exploring.

oOo

Katara found Aang standing at a cliff, the moon dimly lighting up the place and the cool breeze sending comforting chills down her skin. But she still feels exhausted. Aang was closing himself from the rest. He's been down since the desert. He's even doing it now when the both of them are alone. His back faced her as he stared into the waters below, like he was unwilling to turn to look her in the eyes. She was determined to find out why.

"What's going on with you?" Aang flinched at Katara's question, turning his head away from her as if trying to create distance between them. "In the desert all you cared about was finding out about Appa, but now you act like you don't care about him at all."

Indeed, during their escape from Wan Shi Tong's Library, Appa – Aang's sky bison – had been kidnapped. And Aang lost his composure when he found out, reacting angrily at the group for two days even at the slightest request to keep the team alive and not die of dehydration. Then he started brushing Appa off, stating the priority is getting to Ba Sing Se and informing the Earth King of their information to win the war. Though Katara was certain he was hiding something.

"You saw what I did out there," Aang sighed. "I was so angry about losing Appa that I couldn't control myself."

Oh.

"I hated feeling like that."

_Oh._

Katara remembered it clear as day. Aang almost lost control of the Avatar State when confronting the sandbenders who kidnapped and muzzled Appa, destroying their sailers forcing them to flee on foot from the enraged Avatar. It took Katara's efforts to calm the young airbender down.

Whatever his reasoning was, Katara knew the way Aang acted was not the Aang she knew and cared for.

"But you're not letting yourself feel anything," she tried. Aang turned his head around, face fallen from both exhaustion and lack of emotion.

"I do feel something Katara," Aang replied, filling Katara with some glimmer of hope. Hope that Aang might still be his old self.

"I feel something strong emitting from our new companion."

She _did not_ expect that to be his answer.

"Percy?"

Aang nodded his head slowly. He took a deep breath before continuing. "He's different Katara. You saw how your water whip did no damage to him. You saw how he did nothing to fight back. He's not like Zuko or Azula. I just can't wrap my finger around it."

Katara did not know how to answer that. She thought Aang was going to say he still felt hope, or hurt because he felt hope and care. She was ready to tell him that it was okay to feel hurt when one cares or hopes. She did not prepare for this.

Sure, Aang was right. This 'Percy' is too different. At first glance, Katara thought he was of Earth Kingdom with his green eyes, but his complexion was too... foreign. It gave Katara the impression that he was of mixed heritage. Katara blinked.

_It's not possible. Water Tribe settles with Water Tribe; Earth Kingdom settles down with Earth Kingdom; and Fire Nation comes together with... whatever monster that creates Fire Nation._

_But what about Aang and I? Could it really be?_

She snapped her head out of her wayward thoughts. It wasn't the time to think about _other_ things when the fate of the whole world rests on the Avatar standing in front of her and the information they procured from the Library.

Now Aang needs to be comforted. But Katara's at her wits end. So she just does what her heart tells her to. She spread her arms, inviting Aang for a hug.

"You're tired," she said as Aang looked at the half-warm smile formed on her face. "Come here, you need a hug."

Aang stared at her for a few moments, before he put his hands together in front of his chest and bowed. He refused to look her in the eyes. "Thank you for your concern, Katara."

Katara's smile faltered as Aang straightened himself and walking away, probably back to camp for some sleep. _Did he just turn her down?_ She dropped her arms to her side and turned to look at the moon and the waters, the only sound was the water crashing onto the Pass every now and then.

"I could use a hug."

Katara jumped at the voice, preparing herself for an ambush as she scanned her surroundings for any attackers. She met strange green eyes that glint in the dark, and the figure walked forward revealing her 'ambusher'. She was not amused when she recognized the face under the moonlit glow.

"Percy."

The stranger with a weird name and foreign features whom they met earlier in the Serpent's Pass. He had mysteriously appeared from the waters after the Fire Nation ship had sunk from an even more mysterious wave. At the back of Katara's mind, she had her suspicions that he was a waterbender, though she couldn't understand why he claimed to have come from the same Fire Nation ship. Perhaps he was the one who sunk it, despite Sokka still arguing against Aang's invitation that their mystery guest was a Fire Nation spy.

Despite the dark, the dim lighting from the moon was enough to outline a glow on Percy's face. A smile had formed on it, and Katara could only agree with Suki. His smile was one of a serious delinquent, one which taunted the others about troubles he caused but he could never be caught for. Because he. Could. Get. Away. With. It.

"Easy there," Percy raised his hands to his side, showing he was unarmed and meant no harm. His smile still hadn't faded. "I was just exploring the place."

Katara kept her guard up with Percy. If Aang was correct, Percy is something different, and Katara was also curious how this man was able to render the water whip – her most trusty go-to weapon – useless. She was about to speak when Percy beat her to it.

"Who's Appa?"

"How did you –"

"I overheard some parts of the conversation. I do have ears you know."

Katara resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the remark. Percy's sarcasm reminded her of Toph's. Sharp and witty. And _annoying_.

She rolled her eyes anyway.

"He's a…" Katara hesitated. What should she tell this stranger? It's not like he will meet them any time after they reach Ba Sing Se. So she kept it short. "He's a friend."

A hum escaped Percy which Katara believed to be the man processing the information provided to him. Her eyes narrowed when she noticed him taking a few steps to join her at the edge.

"I know a thing or two about that. Losing a friend, I mean."

"Do you now?" Katara spat in reply, and immediately she regretted it when she spotted the look on Percy's face. Somehow, he looked different from the young man she and her group encountered earlier. His jaw was clenched so tight and the frown on his face made his foreign-looking features much, much older. At least ten years older. His hair shone under the moonlight, showing waving of messing hair from the wind like waves in the ocean. His eyes turned a darker shade of green, but it still reminded her of the ocean – the ocean that raged with rogue waves that sunk ships. Katara flinched slightly at the sight, though she hoped the man standing next to her did not notice any of it.

Then, the frown vanished and was replaced with the same troublemaker smile he wore. But it was less wide than it was before.

"You know," Percy started. "I expected the Avatar to be an alien."

"Alien?"

"'Alien?'" Percy snapped his head to look at her like she kicked his pet turtle-duck. "Beings from outer space?"

Seeing the blank look on her face, Percy snapped his head around and Katara heard him muttering a question about 'where is 'Gu Ge' when he needs it?'

"I mean I envisioned the Avatar to be a ten feet tall blue being," Percy chuckled after cursing further in a language Katara could not recognize. "Not a twelve year old kid. I shouldn't be surprised, though."

"You're mocking Aang?" if there was proper lighting, Percy would know Katara had an incredulous look on her face. But for now, her tone would suffice to convey her irritation.

"No, no. I didn't mean that," the smile fell off his face once again, and Percy sighed. "I meant I should know better given my own... portfolio."

Katara did not understand what he meant by the last word, but she did pick up on his tone. And from it, Katara realized for the first time the man sounded... _tired_?

_Just who is this guy?_

"Oh," was her only response. She wanted to ask about this man. _His history. His life._ _How could the water whip not hurt him?_ _Was he a waterbender? If yes, why didn't she see him at the Northern Water Tribe? Or any of the Water Tribes? Was there another Water Tribe?_ She formed the questions in her mind, but her mouth was frozen in its place, refusing to utter the words.

Green eyes studied her, causing her to stiffen. It was uncomfortably silent for a long second before Percy's chuckle – albeit a weak one – broke it. He gestured towards the way leading back to camp.

"Perhaps it's time to rest. You'll need the energy for the trip."

Katara let out a breath she did not know she was holding and eyed Percy suspiciously. _He's way too tall._ "And you don't?"

He merely turned to look at the water. "I like the breeze. I'll stay here a while longer."

Katara felt it was her cue to leave. And leave she did, making her way towards the narrow path but stopping herself as she was about to leave Percy alone. She had a question she needed to ask.

"Percy," said man turned his head to look at Katara who called him. "What were you chasing?"

"What?"

"You repeated that word in your sleep – 'Chase'."

He had mumbled the word in his sleep a few times. "Chase..." He tossed in his sleep, annoying Toph to the point she shouted to ' _quit the racket!_ ' and almost tossed him into the air with her earthbending. Sokka tried to use his boomerang to whack Percy properly asleep, only to be stopped by Katara.

Katara watched as Percy's face muscles battled between twist into a frown or remained as stoic as he could. It turned into a frown before changing back to being neutral. Katara thought she saw a glint of tears in his eyes, but she chalked it as the night playing games with her lack of vision in the dark. She did not see how the water turned a darker shade of blue, but her body did alert her of the sudden shaking of the Pass. It wasn't violent, but still she was cautioned by it.

"Perhaps for another time," Percy offered. "Good night, Katara."

The ground stopped shaking.

Katara knew he was hiding something. She just does. Sokka even coined it as ' _girls' intuition_ ' once. But exhaustion took over her and she suddenly felt discouraged to push the matter.

_Like he said, another time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is wondering, Gu Ge = Google. But since Katara hasn't heard of the term 'Google' so her ears heard it as 'Gu Ge' :P
> 
> Ok these two episodes feels a bit slow, with the lack of action or plot progress whatsoever – and I'm super sorry about that *cries in corner*
> 
> The next chapter, as you could probably guess, is the encounter with the Serpent. That would be an interesting part to write for yours truly. Till then!
> 
> – LaidEffect.
> 
> Oh, and incase there's any errors... it's my fault. Didn't get to read through it again before I post this. 
> 
> Will fix it when I have the time!!


	7. BIG SNAKE LEARNS TO PLAY FETCH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Travelling Group continues their way towards Ba Sing Se, and encounter the Serpent that is the namesake of the Pass. They also discover something about their new travelling companion with a weird name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chap for some reason took me forever to complete because I have stumped at some point of it. Yet, it still feels weird at some parts despite running multiple different ways that weren't satisfactory *sad face*

When Percy returned to camp, the campfire had died out but he could see everyone had fallen asleep with the help of the dim moonlight. He rested himself back to his previous sleeping spot on the hard ground and closed his eyes. The dreams still came back, though he failed to get any new information – or he just failed to remember any when he woke up.

Morning arrived quicker than he expected, and the group were quick to pack up while Percy scanned his surroundings. When he wasn't keeping an eye on the perimeter, he would silently indulge himself by watching Katara repeatedly check on the others to make sure that they had packed all their belongings, only to receive varying responses. The family of three and Suki had replied with a smile regardless of how many times she asked, Aang and Sokka replied with forceful smiles everytime, while Toph would often make snide remarks that Katara was getting older faster than expected. The Toph's remarks always ended in Katara letting out a sigh or bicker with Toph.

The cycle of 'Check-Reply-Argue' repeated itself for a good five minutes, which only ended when Sokka reminded the others that they needed to get going. A small smile formed on Percy's lips as they left camp, fondly reminded of his own quests that he partook on when he was younger. A question popped up at the back of his mind.

_Were my quests ever so… chaotic?_

His train of thought was cut short when he almost walked into Sokka and Suki at the tail end of the group, who apparently stopped walking. Being over a head taller than the next tallest person – the family man Than – allowed Percy to easily see that they had stopped in front of a dead end. A section of the Path is underwater and stretched for approximately a good distance that Percy compared to 100 meter tracks.

The demigod noticed Aang hanging his head dejectedly. The only way they have forward is underwater, and it would make zero sense to get everyone to swim across, especially with a pregnant lady amongst them. He was about to create an air bubble when Katara's voice broke the solemn silence.

"Everyone single file."

She started waving her arms, and Percy raised an eyebrow and curled his lips upwards in amusement when the water parted into two walls, revealing the path. Everyone complied, filing behind Katara with Percy standing behind Aang at the back of the file. The airbender had handed Toph his staff and started waving his arms too upon Katara's request that she needed some help.

_So this is waterbending. Neat._

They found themselves in an air bubble as they traversed the underwater path. Percy guessed that Aang was probably bending some oxygen into the bubble because the air smelt exactly like freshwater. Granted, the walls of the air bubble were made of freshwater from the lake, and they were underwater.

An air bubble underwater was not something seen everyday, so it didn't exactly surprise Percy that the fish once again surrounded it out of curiousity. Though, he should learn to tune out the voices that echo into his head.

_What is this large bubble?_

_Are there more man in bubble?_

_Man can't walk underwater, stupid!_

_Look who's talking!_

Percy was tempted to tell the fish to 'Scram!' again, but he felt he had used that line yesterday. Instead, he resorted to his next favourite line.

_Shut up!_

The fish did not take the hint. The conversation took a different turn altogether.

_What is this?! A man talking to fish?!_

_Isn't that the same one who told us to scram a few chapters ago?_

_What are you even talking about?_

_Didn't you hear him? He said shut up!_

_He wasn't talking to me! He was telling you to shut up!_

_How'd you know he wasn't talking to you?!_

_How'd you know that he is a 'he'? Hmm?_

"I said Shut Up!"

"Who are you talking to?" Aang eyed Percy. No one was talking as far as he was concerned, and Percy's sudden outburst almost took him out of his concentration.

Percy snapped his head to realize that the others, save Katara and Toph, had turned to look at him. In his impatience with the talkative school of fish, he had accidentally spoken up instead of mentally ordering the fish to stop talking. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, he thought of an answer and blurted out the first one that crossed his mind.

"The fish."

Percy was certain he heard Toph snicker.

"Right," Sokka sarcastically replied. He pointed at the large-eared lemur perched on Aang's shoulder. "And this is Momo, our talking flying-lemur."

Percy fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course they wouldn't believe him, and despite having people capable of controlling the elements, somehow Percy talking to fish makes less sense than seeing Sokka argue with that weird looking large-eared lemur that can fly called Momo.

Katara continued waving her arms as she led the group forward, oblivious to the conversation behind her as she focused all her strength on maintaining the watery dome. She was also oblivious when Momo dived out of the dome to swim amongst the fish, only to dive back in when a large shadow loomed over them. Everyone's attention turned to the shadow, including Katara.

"Oh, it's a just Sea Serpent." She heard Percy explain like he was repeating an answer he got, before he spoke again, shouting this time. "SEA SERPENT!"

Before she could be alarmed by the sudden rise in octaves in Percy's voice, the shadow broke through the walls and Katara panicked. She closed her eyes and covered her face, bracing to be hit by the pressures of the water.

It never came.

Slowly, she lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see the dome split in two, but still intact. It quickly merged back into one and she noticed that Aang had stopped bending too. Everyone was looking awestruck at the wall of water that didn't fall apart. Everyone, except one.

"Go!" Percy's voice caught everyone's attention. They looked at the man, who suddenly spread his arms and the air bubble expanded. Katara's eyes widened in realization.

"You're a waterbender!"

"Now's not the time!" Percy yelled before a loud shriek forced Katara to cover her ears. Percy lowered his arms as he glared at the large green creature with red eyes that broke through the surface of the water.

"I think I just figured out why they call it the Serpent's Pass!" Sokka exclaimed in panic while pointing at the large creature. He turned to the Kyoshi Warrior next to him. "Suki, you know about giant sea monsters, make it go away!"

"Sokka, now's really not the time!" Percy shouted before Suki could give her own retort. So, the girl smacked Sokka at the back of his head. Percy decided to file the information about 'Suki living near giant sea monsters' for later.

When Percy lowered his arms, everyone expected the water to crash into them again. But it didn't. Katara's eyes would have widened more if she could, but Percy snapped her back to reality.

"Aang, Katara get everyone to safety! Now!"

Aang looked like he was about to object, but Katara pulled him by the arm and he followed the group who ran past the end of the wall of water and up towards the surface, leaving Percy behind to face the Serpent alone. Just as they reached the surface, the walls water crashed together.

"No!" Aang screamed and immediately dived into the lake, the water muffling Katara's voice calling out to him as he created a small air bubble around his head before swimming towards where he last saw Percy.

oOo

When Percy was certain everyone was safe, he released his control over the walls of water. The water slammed into him but did no harm. The Serpent was pulled from the current and it dived its head back underwater and its red eyes scrutinizing its man-prey that had somehow not drowned.

 _Food_.

Its voice boomed in Percy's head, but he resisted the reflexive wince. Instead, he stared down at the creature.

He thought of a moment, ignoring the gaze that the serpent gave him. This large serpent was hungry, but then there were so many fish in the lake for it to it. Its shape fitted the large, angry silhouette that he saw yesterday. Maybe it thinks he was trespassing and saw him as food.

_No, no. Not food._

_Food talk with me?_

_Yes, and I'm not invading your home. I'm just…_ Percy paused midsentence. He was just trying to take a shortcut to Ba Sing Se. Not that a large sea monster would know where Ba Sing Se is. _Taking a shortcut_.

_Food no take shortcut. Food took swim yesterday but still here._

So the serpent isn't as dumb as it sounded. Percy had to think fast. Why did he not just swim to the other end of the Lake yesterday? Oh right! Fire Nation ship.

 _I swim yesterday because I sunk the large Fire Nation ship?_ He tried.

The serpent tilted its head, and its elongated body followed suit. _Food end hot ship?_

 _Yes, I did._ Percy replied, maybe a little too prideful about sinking the Fire Nation ship. The way the serpent names things reminded Percy of a certain large green creature with anger management issues that he saw in a superhero movie. He heard the serpent hum – _hiss?_ – in thought.

_Food end hot ship for Serpent. Serpent is in debt._

_Err, sure?_

_Not Food is good. Not Food can go._

The serpent sounded satisfied but at the same time disappointed at not getting an additional meal. Percy didn't think twice, he concentrated and created a large ice pole in his hand. He waved the bar in front of the reptile, whose bright red eyes followed the movement of the large ice stick.

_What did Not Food bring?_

_A chew toy!_

_Serpent don't need chew. Serpent mouth big._

_Well, you could chew it when you're doing nothing but laying at the bottom of the Lakes. And you could keep your teeth sharp._

There was silence for a moment. Percy thought he overstepped.

_Serpent wants keep teeth sharp._

_Great! By the way, have you ever chased for something you want?_

_No._

_Do you wanna know the feeling of chasing something you want?_

Another brief silence. _Yes_.

_Good, this is good practice. Be careful though, it's cold. Very cold._

Percy threw the stick as far as he could, then willed the waters to push the ice further and faster away from him and the serpent. The serpent looked at the stick float away before turning back at him. Percy just smiled.

_What are you waiting for? Go get it!_

With that encouragement, the serpent swam in the direction of the icy chew toy. A strong current was formed from its sudden movement, but it didn't push Percy backwards. Instead, it just died off the moment it touched Percy.

Seeing the serpent disappear into the shadows, Percy turned around and was ready to find the rest of his group when he saw Aang just floating in front of him. An air bubble surrounded his head, and still, Percy could see his facial features clearly. The airbender's eyes were rounded and wide open, and his mouth was shaped into an 'O'.

Percy chuckled at Aang's shocked expression.

oOo

When he and Aang had resurfaced from the Lake, everyone was delighted that they were still alive and Aang was still wide-eyed and hadn't said a word since Percy found him staring at him underwater. It took Toph socking him on the shoulder to remove the expression off Aang's face. Sokka was extremely excited.

"Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se."

As if the universe was against Sokka's wish, Ying – the pregnant lady – suddenly took a sharp breath and claimed that the baby's coming. Sokka, in a fit of impatience, suggested that Ying hold the baby in a little longer.

Percy could only pinch the bridge of his nose while Katara whacked her brother at the back of his head as the teen continued breaking down before she delegated work to everyone. Aang was assigned to getting some rags, Sokka had to get water, Toph needed to make a big earth tent, and Suki followed the waterbender into the tent. Percy, well, he tagged along with Sokka to make sure the guy didn't break down again when collecting water.

Sokka fainted when he saw the small head of the baby being pushed out.

Percy found himself dragging Sokka out of the tent and waited with Aang and Toph under the hot sun. He noticed Toph's relaxed posture while Sokka was rubbing his temple when he came to. Aang had wrapped his knees with his arms, a dejected look on his face. Percy felt that he needed to talk to the 'destined saviour of the world'.

He sat next to Aang, though he still towered over the airbender given their height difference.

"I know how it feels," Percy started.

"Know how what feels?" Aang kept his gaze on the floor, and Percy realized it was the same slumped look he saw the night before. Devoid of hope, like he didn't want to continue fighting. It was the contrast of the small spark Percy saw in the shocked look on Aang's face earlier in the water.

"To have the weight of the world on your shoulders. To feel like you can't win."

Aang turned his head to look at Percy. "How?"

Before Percy could answer, the sound of a baby crying followed by Katara's rejoice that it's a girl along with Toph and Sokka entering the tent cut the conversation short. Percy got on both his feet and offered a hand to Aang.

"Another time then. Wanna go in and have a look?"

Aang stared at the outstretched hand and planned to turn down the offer until Katara called him.

"Aang, you have to come to see this."

Sighing, Aang got on his feet, ignoring Percy's offer to pull him up, and walked into the tent with the much taller man following behind.

Ying was laying down with both Than and their teenage daughter sitting by her sides. When Aang laid eyes on the baby wrapped in a rag and cuddled in Ying's arms, he felt the world around him brighten up as his eyes pricked with tears. He didn't pay heed to Sokka making a remark about the baby looking squishy, Percy's instant reply that 'it's a _baby_ ', nor Than and Ying's discussion on picking a baby's name. He took a step forward with the corners of his lips curving upwards just so slightly.

"I've been going through a really hard time lately," he told the family. "But you've made me ... hopeful again."

And that became the name of the newest addition to Than and Ying's family. _Hope_.

oOo

"So, you're a waterbender."

Katara noticed green eyes roll at her allegations as she and the group continued their journey towards Ba Sing Se.

Since his first (bizarre and unexpected) appearance, Katara had several questions for Percy. And after seeing him bend the Lake, the girl was certain that the newcomer to the group was a waterbender just like her, if not more powerful given the lack of struggle he showed when he bent the water. But Aang and Percy's resurfacing from the lake - and the latter's mysteriously dry state as he did so - a few hours ago left Katara with even more unanswered questions than she liked. The tail-end of the conversation she heard between Aang and Percy made her even more confused, especially when Percy promised the Avatar to continue their conversation at another time.

It was like her own conversation with Percy the night before.

But now, with Aang taking a head start to the Earth Kingdom capital along with Momo and Suki returning to the Kyoshi Warriors (after she and Sokka kissed, a few times too), the remainder of the group found themselves travelling on foot under the sun, but Katara wasn't going to let it stop ger from getting some answers.

Cue now, with Percy glancing over towards Katara but he never stopped walking. She thought that the glare from the sunlight was playing games on her when she saw the tips of his lips curve up slightly as she eyed him suspiciously while waiting for an answer.

"No, I'm not," Percy answered lazily.

"Then, who kept the path at the Lake opened?" Katara asked. She wasn't willing to outright admit that she and Aang lost control of the air bubble, but wanted Percy to admit that it was he who took control after.

"You and Aang," was Percy's nonchalant answer before he added, "We all saw with our own eyes you know."

"I didn't," Toph added.

"Not now Toph!" Katara snapped at the earthbender when she heard the hint of levity in the latter's voice. Her blind jokes always had bad timing, and it was making the waterbender lose her patience. Toph shrugged and grumbled, but a smile formed on her face. Katara turned back to look at Percy, who was looking at Toph.

"Maybe I should rephrase my question," Katara lowered her tone. "Who kept the water walls up when the Sea Serpent crushed it? And how did the ship sink to a wave on a lake?"

"Me, and also me."

"But you don't waterbend?"

"I don't."

"If you don't waterbend how did you do what you said you did?"

"By controlling it."

"That makes you a waterbender!"

"Still no."

Katara was left stumped at that, none of Percy's answers made sense. So, she tried something else before she really loses her cool running around in circles.

"Where are you from?"

"Earth."

"The Earth Kingdom?"

"Nope."

"So you're Water Tribe then."

"Huh?" Percy almost stopped walking for the first time. "No."

"When you said Earth, are you saying you came from the ground?"

"Do I look like Gaea to you?"

"What's a Gaya?"

"Mother Earth."

"You don't make any sense."

"Mmhmm," was Percy's only response.

It was going nowhere, Katara realised. And when she studied Percy's face, she noticed that he had a shit-eating grin on it. It felt like he was toying with her, and frustration had built up to her chest.

"If you're such a powerful waterbender," Katara gritted her teeth, "Why aren't you fighting in the war against the Fire Nation?"

A sharp 'What' escaped Percy's lips as he stopped in his tracks. Katara saw the bewildered look replacing the grin on his face, almost like Sokka's when the fortune teller said his life was going to be full of self-inflicted pain. _Good_.

"I was never involved in the first place," Percy answered monotonously. "Nor was I aware of it until a few days ago."

_What?_

"That's impossible!" Katara's voice almost went up an octave. She just couldn't wrap her head around this man. The war waged by the Fire Nation had lasted a hundred years, and torn her from her mother, while her father joined the frontlines a few years ago. How is this man not aware of the war that lasted a _hundred_ years?

Even the name should be alarming!

"The War has been going on for a hundred years! Were you also frozen in ice?!"

"Also?" Percy quirked an eyebrow. "Didn't know you guys have Captain America too."

Another word that Katara couldn't understand. Maybe it's a person, and if he knows a Captain means he's probably a soldier stuck in ice. Which means…

"If you were just made aware of the war, why didn't you find a way join and maybe stop it?"

Percy's eyebrows knitted together as he stopped walking again. _Where's a meat-flavoured sack and a pack of wolves when you need one?_

"Okay, time-out!" Hequickly formed a T with his hands, signalling for it. Though he was certain they did not understand the meaning of his hand sign, enough was enough. Percy needed to get to Ba Sing Se. This Katara was not helping.

Katara watched as Percy snapped his head around so fast she thought for a second that his neck was going to break, but the thought left her when she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Her heart almost stopped beating and she felt dread wash over her.

"I don't know what your issue is here, missy," Percy growled as he stalked up to Katara. When he got up close, the height difference forced both to tilt their necks to maintain eye contact. "I'm not part of this war, nor am I some _bender_ from some Water Tribe."

Katara flinched and fought hard not to squirm under Percy's sudden dark gaze, but he wasn't done.

"I'm on my way to Ba Sing Se to make sure someone I know is safe before I find my way back. And in case you're still confused from whatever information disclosed to you, I'll give you the 'TLDR' version: Percy Jackson, yours truly, isn't from around here."

Sokka blinked at the weird words that the young adult used, trying to comprehend the phrases he heard. His attention snapped back as his brain narrowed on a piece of particular information and he quickly got in between Katara and Percy.

"Easy, easy," he tried, keeping his gaze on Katara and trying hard not to look at Percy. He made the mistake of turning over to the towering man and he instinctively felt shivers under his skin.

Percy's eyes had a different shade of green, reminding the Water Tribesman of the time they travelled under the depths of the Lake, but darker. The rest of his features were similar to his eyes, as if all light around him had been sucked out. Sokka felt like he was a small prey out in the wilderness, stalked by a large alpha wolf that successfully cornered him with its pack and was about to pounce at any moment.

_This guy's intense. Way too intense_

"You're not from around here?" not the best attempt to shift the direction of the conversation from the glare but Sokka could only manage to speak that much under the scrutiny of the towering man in front of him.

"He's lying," Katara managed to sputter out. "And where does 'here' even refer to?"

Percy was about to glare in the girl's direction again when someone else beat him to it and argued against Katara's point.

"Actually, he's telling the truth."

"Thank you," Percy said when he heard Toph take his side, his facial expression lightening. He snapped his head towards the short girl. "Wait? How'd you know?"

"I can feel your breathing and heartbeat," Toph said smugly. "When people lie, there's a physical reaction. You're telling the truth."

"But… but… "Katara was relieved that Percy was no longer glaring daggers at her or her brother, but the sudden shift in atmosphere made her uncomfortable as she felt her body stopped shaking. She found herself trying to find an argument against Toph's sudden support of the man. Her whole life she always understood the simple logic of the world: waterbenders come from the Water Tribes, Earthbenders from the Earth Kingdom, Firebenders from Fire Nation and Airbenders from Air Temples.

It's that simple. _Wait, was the ground shaking just now?_

Percy ignored the sputtered mess that was Katara and focused on Toph instead. "So you're basically a walking lie detector."

"Of course," the smile on Toph's face widened. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't see."

Percy found himself trying to process that information and the way it was worded to him. "So how do you see?"

"With my feet, dummy."

Percy looked down at the girl's feet, and realized she was barefooted. For some reason he was expecting eyeballs to appear on her toes like Argus. They didn't.

Sokka snapped out of his thoughts about an unexpected earthquake and Earthbender Thugs in the vicinity when he saw the confused look on Percy's face. At least he's not angry anymore.

"She has something I like to call 'Seismic Sense'," seeing Percy's blank look, Sokka tried to explain further. "Basically she can sense the vibration on the ground and create an image of her surroundings."

"So, her feet's also a radar," Percy remarked while raising an eyebrow.

"It sounds cool," Sokka pondered. "But what does a Ray-da even mean?"

"Don't look at me, I still don't know how it works," Percy raised his hands. Now, he really wished he had Leo's mad understanding on how technology works. Or at least paid more attention whenever the Son of Hephaestus had gone on his blabbering sprees on how some of the machines ticked.

"Guys, you may want to see this," Ying spoke up.

She and Than had shared an uneasy look at the exchange that transpired earlier between their new travel companion and the Waterbender girl, and wondered what they got themselves into when Percy looked like he was about to unleash Hell upon Katara. His furious look reminded them of someone who was considering between squashing their target with earth and skewering them with a pike. It didn't help that he could easily shift from annoyed to furious to stunned in a short time span. Though they did not understand the words that came out of the teens' mouths, seeing them past the point of cutthroat allowed them to release a breath neither knew were holding in.

Everyone looked up to the direction the mother of two had pointed and saw the all too familiar shape of a glider headed in their direction. Aang landed in front of them, the worrisome look on his face alerting his friends and travel companions.

"We've got a big problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I confidently say the Serpent scene was gonna be interesting?  
> *runs away from flying bronze spears and fireballs 2.0*
> 
> First off, sorry if this chapter is as chatty as the last one (if not more). Kinda wanted to put the Team's own reaction to Percy's abilities. Oh, and they're gonna learn about his heritage really, really soon. *Crosses fingers* hopefully. Maybe some of it
> 
> Andddd in case you're wondering how Percy can lift an oversized ice pole that could fit the serpent's mouth and toss it through the water, well he is given a power boost from water and maybeee he could control the currents to help him move the large dam thing. Or you could just say it's the power of 'plot-logic'. *shameless grin*
> 
> Oh and I took a wild guess and came to the crazy conclusion that Sokka was about 5' 6" (167cm) and Than looked slightly (just abit) taller in the animation so I said Than was the tallest in the travel group.
> 
> Percy is still ONE HEAD taller than Than. (6' 1" vs 5' 6" or 7")
> 
> What did he eat when he was a kid? Do blue cookies make people that tall? Does being the child of a god give you extra height? No, right?
> 
> Do they?
> 
> Or he's just the son of a "handsome" God and that probably entails him to godly genetics. Yes, that makes more sense than blue cookies.
> 
> Right?
> 
> By the way, I'm on Instagram and Twitter too. Just joined recenetly actually. I rarely update there and would only do so if I have an announcement to make (new story, a fic is done, an idea popped out in my head etc etc etc), but if you guys kinda like wanna just checkout what I would be up to in the near future my username is the same with both Insta and Twitter - LaidEffect (the one im using) :D
> 
> Also, I didn't like the idea that I usually left you guys wondering if I'm on hiatus or AWOL or would I ever update my fics without a word, so yea Twitter's for that (Insta too, though that's just for... stuff).


End file.
